The Northeastern men’s baseball team (3-2, 0-0 CAA) couldn’t complete a sweep during its Feb. 22 and 23 matchup against Indiana State Sycamores (5-3, 0-0 Missouri Valley Conference). The Huskies won the first two games, 7-0 and 5-0 but lost the third 5-4. The team was coming off of its 21st annual loss against the Boston Red Sox in an exhibition game Feb. 21.
Starting off the first game of the double-header, junior right-handed pitcher Aiven Cabral dealt in the first five innings, keeping the Sycamores to only four hits and a walk. Cabral had two strikeouts during his time on the mound.
The offense helped out for the win, starting the first inning with junior infielder Carmelo Musacchia getting hit by a pitch. After Musacchia stole second, graduate student first baseman Alex Lane knocked one up the middle, sending Musacchia to home and giving Northeastern a 1-0 lead.
The Huskies’ bats got hot in the second inning as graduate student catcher Gregory Bozzo hit an RBI single, bringing in sophomore outfielder Ryan Gerety and senior infielder Jack Doyle. Then Musacchia hit a dinger over the left field wall, blowing the game open for a 5-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, junior infielder Jack Goodman knocked a single and steal, getting the sixth run on base. Then with two outs, Gerety smacked a single through left field, driving Goodman in. The Huskies added on one more in the sixth, with consecutive hits from the bottom of the lineup. A double from redshirt junior outfielder Harrison Feinberg and an RBI single from Bozzo expanded the lead to 7-0.
Junior right-handed relief pitcher Charlie Walker came into the sixth inning with heat, striking out the side. Walker recorded a new single-game career high of 6 strikeouts, with no hits and no walks in three innings. To close the game out, junior right-handed pitcher Joseph Hauser came to the mound, ending the game with two flyouts and a strike out.
The Northeastern pitching staff recorded their first shut-out of the year in just their third game of the season, totaling nine strikeouts and allowing just one free base. This success continued into game two with another shutout game.
The offense came to life once again in the second half of the Feb. 22 double-header with the Huskies scoring the first run of the game. In the third inning, senior utility player Justin Bosland had a solo shot to right field making the game 1-0.
Graduate student left-handed pitcher Will Jones was cruising through the game, tossing six shutout innings. He allowed just one hit, one walk and struck out six for his second win of the season.
Graduate transfer student left-handed pitcher Jordan Gottesman came out of the pen in the seventh inning, striking out six with just one walk.
There wasn’t much offensive action on either side until the eighth inning, when the Huskies added on some insurance, piling on four more runs.
Junior outfielder Cam Maldonado went deep in an 0-1 count after a walk to Bosland and a hit by pitch to Musacchia, making the score 4-0. Junior catcher Matt Brinker knocked a single up the middle, scoring Goodman after his double and making the final score 5-0 Huskies.
For the second consecutive weekend, Northeastern pitchers were dominant, notching double-digit strikeout numbers in a game, shutting out the Sycamores. This double-header turned double shutout is the first in five years for the Huskies, giving them the series win.
Senior left-handed pitcher Jack Bowery had his first start of the year in game 3 against Indiana State the next day. Across four scoreless innings, he only allowed two hits and a walk, striking out five batters. In the second, Bowery worked a 1-2-3 inning on just nine pitches.
The Huskies struck first once again, on a Maldonado line drive double, scoring Feinberg in the third. Then, with two outs in the fifth, Northeastern hit four consecutive singles, starting with Gerety, to add on to the lead. Brinker hit the fourth single of the inning to the left side, scoring Maldonado from third for the 3-0 lead.
Sycamores answered back in the bottom of the fifth with their first runs of the weekend. An Indiana State fly ball to center field was lost in the sun, allowing them to score two unearned runs making the score 3-2.
Senior right-handed pitcher Ryan McCarroll stepped up in the sixth, dealing a scoreless inning. Then in the seventh, graduate student right-handed pitcher Cooper McGrath came out of the pen, striking out two with one walk and one unearned run allowed.
A wild pitch in the seventh allowed the Sycamores to tie the game.
In the following top of the inning, the Huskies loaded the bases and retook the lead on a wild pitch, scoring Bozzo. This was not enough to hold on to the lead as the Sycamores came alive in the eighth. A fielder’s choice play sent a runner home from third, following a sac-fly to make the score 5-4, Indiana State.
A late game rally from Northeastern from Lane and Brinker couldn’t complete the comeback and the Huskies lost the third game of the series, 5-4.
Northeastern will travel to the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (7-1, 0-0 Big West) for a four-game series this coming Friday, Feb. 28. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m. HST or 11:35 p.m. EST.
