By Jake Sauberman, deputy sports editor
Northeastern University (NU) baseball has been underway for over a month, but it’s the beginning of conference play that truly signals the beginning of ultra-competitive games. Squaring off against Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rival Elon University, the Huskies got off to a strong start before dropping the series two games to one.
Taking Friday’s opening match 9-2, head coach Mike Glavine was highly impressed with his team’s performance.
“I thought we arguably played our best game since I’ve been the head coach in three years,” Glavine said. “I thought we were just awesome. We pitched really well, defended really well, stole bases, had some clutch hits. It shows what we’re capable of when we put it all together.”
Senior righthander Mike Fitzgerald got his usual Friday starting nod, and the workhorse proved once again to be the Huskies’ anchor on the mound. He scattered four hits across 6.1 innings, allowing just one to score while striking out five to earn the win.
The offense was highlighted by the debut of sophomore first baseman Jake Farrell. The slugger went 2-for-5 at the dish, slotted in the cleanup spot.
“What I like about [Farrell] is that he brings great defense at first,” Glavine said. “He’s a former center fielder, so he has the athleticism. He’s got big soft hands and can pick the ball well, making it easier on our infielders to throw to him.”
The newly revamped Huskies lineup got off to a hot start, a trademark feature in the team’s wins. A Farrell RBI single followed by another off the bat of junior shortstop Max Burt got NU off to an early lead, and an RBI groundout by senior outfielder Pat Madigan made it 3-0 in the top of the first.
Elon got one back in the bottom half, but the Huskies added to their momentum, scoring six more unanswered runs.
Hanley’s two-run shot in the seventh inning was the nail in the coffin, and NU looked like they would make easy work of Elon in the series.
But momentum has proved fickle for the Huskies this season, and this series was no different.
Freshman righthander Kyle Murphy drew the Saturday start, desperate for some good fortune. In the 20 innings leading up to this start, Murphy had allowed 20 runners to score and held a strikeout-walk ratio of 11-to-10. However, this outing proved more of the same for the young hurler, as he let up four runs over four innings, striking out three and walking three.
Despite another shaky performance by Murphy, the Huskies were right in the thick of things through the sixth inning, holding a 6-4 lead on a homer from Madigan. But the seventh was the site of disaster, as freshman reliever David Stiehl allowed six Phoenix to cross the plate before the third out was mercifully recorded. By the time the damage was done, Elon handed NU an 11-6 loss.
Glavine cites the need for early leads to keep the momentum going from game to game.
“Momentum in baseball is just what your starting pitcher does in his next start or how your offense comes out of the gate,” he said. “I just have to do a better job of getting them ready for every game.”
Any signs of momentum from Friday’s big win were effectively lost on Sunday, as the Elon shut out the Huskies 6-0. However, as Glavine pointed out, the six-run margin doesn’t tell the full story.
“We just couldn’t get the big hit to break through and take the lead,” Glavine said. “The final score wasn’t indicative of our effort, we were really in that game until the late innings.”
Junior righthander Brian Christian took the hill for the Huskies and impressed once again in his third start of the season. Holding the Phoenix off the scoreboard over his five innings, Christian only allowed a single hit while striking out four. The reason for his early exit boiled down to control: Christian walked six batters.
“Sometimes he tries to overthrow because he can throw so hard […] but he’s really evolving as a starter,” Glavine said. “His stuff is good enough where he’s capable of working around trouble. We’re just looking for more length out of him at this point.”
The Huskies’ bullpen was the source of Elon’s scoring, as all six runs came in the final three frames. Freshman reliever Brian Rodriguez allowed his first run of the season, bringing his ERA up to a still-microscopic 0.66, and junior closer Tyler Robinson allowed four runs over 0.2 innings in his first rough outing of the year.
It was one of Robinson’s first appearances in a non-save situation, an often difficult adjustment for closers. However, Glavine does not feel like defined roles are set in the players’ minds.
“I talk to our pitchers a lot and let them know that we don’t have roles,” he said. “Their role is when I ask them to come into the game they do the best that they can on that given day.”
Looking ahead, the Huskies have a slightly longer week than usual. With a game against the University of Rhode Island at home on Wednesday, NU will be battle-tested before the weekend series against CAA rival Towson University begins.
“It’s a little tougher, especially because we’ve been travelling so much and conference play has started,” Glavine said. “I would say that this week is the most difficult part of our season, all things considered. Our message for this week is to just grind through it, and we’ll finally get to be home for a stretch.”
