Lengthy pitching rotation gives Huskies sixth-straight home win

Patrick O'Neal

Junior catcher Jimmy Sullivan takes a swing. Sullivan tallied a career high 13 putouts in Wednesday’s game against URI.

Sarah Popeck, news staff
March 30, 2023

Another day at Friedman Diamond brought another win for the Huskies (19-4, 3-3 CAA) — this time, a 7-2 shutdown of the University of Rhode Island (8-11, 0-0 A10).

Rhode Island made the first mark in the second inning — and it was a big one. Sophomore right-fielder Eric Genther smacked the ball to right field for the first home run of the game, earning an RBI in the process. 

The Huskies quickly found their footing at the bottom of the third when redshirt sophomore first baseman Jack Thorbahn hit a homer to left field, allowing redshirt freshman outfielder Harrison Feinberg to advance and score from first base.

Though, there is only one thing better than a home run — doing it again. Redshirt senior third baseman Danny Crossen stepped up to the plate with a center hit that took him and junior second-baseman Luke Beckstein home, bringing the score to 4-1 for the Huskies.

After allowing four runs, URI redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Bo Brutti was retired halfway through the third inning for freshman right-hander Colin Maloney

Over the course of the game, there was a clear pitching weakness on both sides — Rhode Island rotated six pitchers, while Northeastern used five.

It was not until the top of the sixth that Rhode Island started scoring again. Genther hit a double and secured the run with redshirt senior outfielder Rob Butler’s single, but the Rams were still down 4-2 and in need of a few more scoring plays.

Northeastern also shone in the bottom of the sixth. Freshman outfielder Cam Maldonado sent a ball down left field, giving Beckstein another chance to run home. Maldonado soon scored himself off a single from Crossen to bring the scoreboard to 6-2. 

Though Crossen advanced to second on a wild pitch, he ended up left on the bases — Rhode Island’s Connor Johnston, a right-handed freshman, only allowed those two hits in the inning. Northeastern sophomore center fielder Mike Sirota hit a ball right to the shortstop, earning a third out for the Huskies and finishing the inning.

James Morice, a Northeastern right-handed freshman, closed out the game and prevented Rhode Island from topping the board by pitching six strikes.

Thorbahn made another hit at the top of the eighth, sending the ball right to center field and giving him the chance to reach second base. Northeastern placed Bosland in as a pinch runner for Thorbahn, and it was a successful decision — Bosland not only stole third base, but Crossen made a hit that gave Bosland the opening to score the last run of the game for a 7-2 score.

Despitethe fact that no pitcher was in the game for more than three innings, Northeastern was able to find its footing, giving the Huskies a sixth-straight home win. They have only lost at Friedman Diamond once this season, against North Carolina A&T — and even then, they still took the series win — but taking on Rhode Island gave them their 19th overall win of the season. It also earned Crossen four RBIs alongside his home run, making him a player to keep track of this season.

The Huskies will go on the road to New Jersey, playing Monmouth for a three-day weekend series. They will play their first game Friday at 3 p.m.