The Northeastern baseball team (22-9, 7-2 CAA) took down the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils (18-5, 14-1 Northeast) in an afternoon showdown April 9, scoring an impressive 12 runs . The 12-5 win ended the Blue Devils’ seven-game winning streak and put the Huskies back in the win column after their loss to Campbell University.
The Huskies started off strong in the first inning with a one-out walk to junior center outfielder Cam Maldonado. Redshirt junior left outfielder Harrison Feinberg then smashed an opposite field homer to take the early 2-0 lead. Husky defense came up short in the bottom of the first, as the Blue Devils scored on a dropped fly ball to cut the lead in half.
The offense was hot in the second inning, scoring five runs on four hits. Junior second baseman Carmelo Musacchia led off the inning with a home run to right field. A throwing error by CCSU’s catcher allowed sophomore right outfielder Ryan Gerety to reach first base on a bunt and then advance to third on a wild pickoff throw.
Graduate student designated hitter Gregory Bozzo hit an RBI groundout, allowing Gerety to score and increasing the lead to 4-1. A two-out single from senior third baseman Jack Doyle got another runer on base, who would then score on a Maldonado RBI double down the third base line.
The score was now 5-1, and two walks to Feinberg and redshirt freshman catcher Will Fosberg added more pressure on the bases. An RBI single by graduate student first baseman Alex Lane scored them both, breaking the game open with a score of 7-1, Huskies.
The Blue Devils then scored one in the bottom of the third on a pair of doubles for the lead to be cut down to 7-2.
In the fourth inning, a lead off walk to Doyle and a single from Maldonado put a runner in scoring position. On a Feinberg sac-fly, Doyle scored easily for the 8-2 lead. Then, an infield single from Lane scored Maldonado from third, bringing the score to 9-2.
Northeastern offense in the top of seventh had some more action as Gerety started the inning off with a hard-hit triple. He then scored on a Blue Devil wild pitch for the Huskies 10th run of the game. CCSU was not done just yet; in the bottom of the frame they added on two more to bring the game to 10-4.
In the ninth inning, Northeastern answered back and added on two more runs. Gerety led off with a walk and scored on a Bozzo RBI double. Then, Bozzo got to third on a fly-out and scored on a Doyle hit to right. In the bottom of the ninth, CCSU added on one run on three hits, but a 4-6-3 double play ended the game.
Starting graduate student left-handed pitcher Max Gitlin secured his fourth win of the season, pitching five innings while allowing five hits and two runs — only one earned. Gitlin issued just two walks and one strikeout before exiting the game with a 9-2 lead, with the bullpen able to finish off the game.
The Huskies take on the Hofstra Pride (12-21, 3-6 CAA) at Friedman Diamond this weekend, with the first of three games starting at 11:30 a.m. April 11.
