The Northeastern baseball team (18-8, 5-1 CAA) swept the Stony Brook Seawolves (11-14, 1-5 CAA) in a three-game series on the road March 28-30. In every game, the Huskies scored double-digit runs and limited the Seawolves to no more than four runs.
In the first game of the series March 28, the Huskies defeated the Seawolves 10-4 after a slew of home runs.
Junior right-handed pitcher Aiven Cabral pitched the first six innings for the Huskies, giving up four hits and three earned runs as well as striking out six batters. Junior right-handed pitcher Charlie Walker pitched the last three innings, giving up one run and five hits and striking out one batter. Junior center fielder Cam Maldonado and senior third baseman Jack Doyle each had three RBIs, and junior infielder Jack Goodman went 3-5 with one RBI.
Despite having first and third, the Huskies had a scoreless top of the first to start. Luckily, Cabral kept the Seawolves scoreless as well, only giving up one hit.
Redshirt junior left fielder Harrison Feinberg led off the top of the second with a home run to center field, putting the Huskies up 1-0. While the Huskies got two more base runners, the lone run off the homer was all they got.
The bottom of the second started off with a runner on first for the Seawolves off a drop third strike, but after a double play, a single and ground out, the Seawolves remained scoreless.
The third and fourth innings were unproductive for both teams, but the Huskies’ bats came alive in the top of the fifth.
After a single, Maldonado hit a home run to increase the Huskies’ lead to 3-0. After an out, Goodman hit a home run to go up 4-0. Following the same pattern, once the Huskies had two outs, Doyle hit a home run to put the Huskies up 5-0 and forced a pitching change for the Seawolves before the end of the inning. Conversely, in the bottom of the fifth, Cabral retired the side.
The sixth inning had no hits for either team, but the seventh was a strong point for Stony Brook. A double, walk and another double to knock those runners in brought the score to 5-2 and a pitching change for the Huskies.
Once Walker was on the mound, the Seawolves continued their tear. A single knocked in another run for Stony Brook and was followed with a strikeout for their first out of the inning. Another single advanced the runner, and an RBI bunt put the Seawolves between one run before back-to-back popups ended the inning.
Doyle led off the top of the eighth with his second home run of the game to increase the Huskies’ lead to 6-4. After a fly out, graduate student first baseman Alex Lane walked and stole second. A single by graduate student catcher Gregory Bozzo put Lane on third before the Seawolves made a pitching change. The pitcher for the Seawolves walked junior second baseman Carmelo Musacchia, giving the Huskies bases loaded with one out. A sacrifice fly drove in Lane before a strikeout ended the inning.
Stony Brook had a walk and a double to give them second and third with two outs, but a foul out ended their opportunity to score in the bottom of the eighth.
In the top of the ninth, the Huskies ended their last turn at bat with a series of baserunners and runs scored. Goodman left off the inning with a single and then stole second. After a strikeout, Goodman was knocked in a single by Doyle, giving Doyle his third RBI of the game. A walk for redshirt freshman designated hitter Will Fosberg put runners on first and second with one out.
Lane followed with a double to left center, driving in two runs. After a single for Bozzo, the inning ended on a strikeout to lead into the last half of the game with the Huskies up 10-4.
Stony Brook’s first batter grounded out, followed by a double to left field. Although the next batter’s ground out advanced the runner to third, the Seawolves failed to capitalize, ending the inning and the game on a flyout, handing the Huskies the first game of the series 10-4.
The second game of the series showed an even more impressive offensive performance for the Huskies as they took the game from the Seawolves 13-5.
Senior left-handed pitcher Jack Bowery got the win, pitching 5.2 innings and giving up five runs and eight hits. Senior right-handed pitcher Brett Dunham pitched 1.1 innings, giving up two hits and no runs. Redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Jack Cropper and junior right-handed pitcher Carson Walsh each pitched one inning and gave up one hit each. Maldonado went 3 for 4 with a walk and five RBIs, and Lane went 1 for 5 with 4 RBIs. Feinberg went 3 for 5 with an RBI as well.
The top of the inning was unproductive for the Huskies, and the bottom of the inning led to an interesting series of plays as Northeastern’s defense faltered. After a groundout, the next batter for the Seawolves reached on an error. Then, a fielder’s choice put a runner on first before a single that should have given the Seawolves first and second gave them first and third because of a throwing error. Luckily for the Huskies, they got out of the inning off another fielder’s choice.
The top of the second broke the scoreless streak of the first two innings. Feinberg led off with a home run to center field, followed by a single for Doyle. After back-to-back outs, a single for Bozzo advanced Doyle to third. Musacchia walked to give the Huskies bases loaded with two outs. Maldonado stepped up to the plate and singled to left field to knock in two runs and send Musacchia to third, putting the Huskies up 3-0. A walk advanced Maldonado to second, but a strikeout ended the inning.
Despite a double, the top of the third of the third was over quickly with the Huskies, but the bottom of the third gave the Seawolves their first runs of the game. While the first batter for the Seawolves grounded out, it was followed with a single and a fielder’s choice to leave a runner on first with two outs. The next batter for the Seawolves knocked the ball over the fence for a two-run home run to put the Seawolves between one with the score 3-2 Huskies. A groundout ended the inning.
The top of the fourth was a high scorer for the Huskies. After a throwing error and a single gave the Huskies first and third, a three-run home run for Maldonado gave the Huskies a 6-2. A double, followed by a pitching change and another double knocked in another run to put the Huskies up 7-2.
The bottom of the fourth was productive for the Seawolves as well. After a single and a sacrifice bunt, a two-run home run cut the Huskies’ lead to three with a score of 7-4 before the end of the inning.
The fifth inning was scoreless for both teams, but the top of the sixth was a success for the Huskies. Goodman led off the inning with a solo home run to right field to give the Huskies a 8-4 lead. Two singles followed by a walk gave the Huskies bases loaded with no outs, and they did not miss their opportunity. Lane hit a grand slam to center field to put the Huskies up 12-4 moving into the bottom of the sixth.
After a groundout to start the bottom of the sixth, a double, single and a walk similarly gave the Seawolves bases loaded. A single knocked in one run before a fly out ended it to bring the score to 12-5 Northeastern.
The Huskies’ last run of the game came in the top of the eighth off a solo homerun from Fosberg.
While the rest of the game was mostly uneventful with no runs scored, the Seawolves kept the Huskies on edge in the bottom of the ninth. After leading off with a single, a fielder’s choice that was followed with a throwing error gave Stony Brook a runner on second with one out. A wild pitch advanced the runner to third, but luckily for the Huskies, a strikeout and groundout ended the game with the Huskies defeating the Seawolves 13-5.
The third and final game of the series March 30 was another strong offensive showing for the Huskies and an improved defense from the game before when the Huskies had three errors and gave up five runs, giving them the win 10-2.
Graduate student left-handed pitcher Will Jones started the game for the Huskies, giving up one earned run and two hits in two innings, but graduate student left-handed pitcher Jordan Gottesman got the win for the Huskies after pitching six innings with five strikeouts and only giving up one earned run and one hit. Freshman right-handed pitcher Andrew Basel pitched the ninth, giving up zero hits or runs and notching two strikeouts. Goodman went 2 for 5 on the day with three RBIs.
In the top of the first, Musacchia led off with a popup, but Maldonado was quick to put the Huskies on the board with a solo home run to left field. The next two batters were retired, but the Huskies were up 1-0.
In the bottom of the first, the Seawolves led off with a ground out, followed by a single. After the single, an RBI double to left field tied the game 1-1 before the end of the inning.
The second and third innings were scoreless for both teams. Stony Brook retired the side in the top of the fourth and led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run to have its first lead of the series, 2-1, before the end of the inning.
In the top of the sixth, Goodman hit a three-run home run with one out to put the Huskies up 4-2. A Feinberg single was followed with a pitching change, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Huskies. The first batter the new pitcher faced was hit-by-pitch, advancing the runner to second before they both pulled a double steal to give the Huskies second and third.
Fosberg was then walked to give the Huskies bases loaded with Lane at the plate. A struggle to find the strike zone led to Lane being walked and a run to score. A sacrifice bunt ended the inning, but not before another Husky batter could score to put them up 6-2.
After all three Stony Brook batters were retired in the bottom of the sixth, the Huskies went on another hitting spree in the top of the seventh. The inning began with a double and a walk before a successful bunt for sophomore right outfielder Ryan Gerety increased the Huskies’ lead to 7-2 with runners on first and second. A groundout advanced the runners to second and third before a walk led to another pitching change for the Seawolves. The next pitcher promptly walked Doyle and hit Fosberg with a pitch to force in two more runs for the Huskies to put Northeastern up 9-2. The final blow came off a sacrifice fly for Lane to put the Huskies up 10-2.
The rest of the game saw no scoring for either team, but the success on the mound for the Seawolves came far too late as the Huskies swept the series with a win in the final game with a score of 10-2.
The Huskies are back in action April 1 against the Boston College Eagles (13-12, 5-7 ACC) for the first round of the Baseball Beanpot at home.
