The Northeastern baseball team (33-9, 16-2 CAA) swept the Monmouth University Hawks (20-24, 7-11 CAA) April 25 to 27, extending its winning streak to 12.
Northeastern was victorious in the first game of the series, defeating the Hawks 16-5 April 25.
Sophomore right fielder Ryan Gerety opened the scoring for the Huskies with a leadoff home run in the top of the first inning. With redshirt junior left fielder Harrison Feinberg on base, junior shortstop Jack Goodman homered to extend the team’s lead to 3-0.
In the bottom of the first inning, Monmouth’s sophomore first baseman Chris Walsh got the Hawks on the board with a solo home run to make the score 3-1.
The Huskies extended their lead to 4-1 from a single by Gerety to bring in junior designated hitter Matt Brinker from second base on a throwing error in the top of the second inning.
In the top of the third inning, Feinberg was walked to put a runner on base. Senior third baseman Jack Doyle followed with a double, driving in Feinberg to extend the Huskies’ lead to 5-1.
Northeastern scored two more runs in the top of the fourth inning off of a two-run shot by Brinker, 7-1.
Junior second baseman Carmelo Musacchia led off the top of the fifth inning with a single to right field. Graduate student first baseman Alex Lane singled to advance Musacchia to third, and Brinker’s sacrifice fly brought Musacchia in to put the Huskies up 8-1.
Feinberg singled and stole two bases to himself in scoring position in the top of the sixth inning. Goodman homered to bring in two more runs, 10-1. Doyle was hit by a pitch and stole second before being scored by Lane, 11-1.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Hawks sophomore third baseman Wyatt Hunt singled to center field to score a run and put a runner on third, 11-2. Junior center fielder Aiden Bretschneider’s sacrifice groundout brought in a run, 11-3.
The Huskies had a strong offense in the top of the seventh inning, putting five runs on the board. Brinker led off the inning with a single, and Gerety was walked to put two on. Junior center fielder Cam Maldonado singled to score Brinker and advance Gerety to third. A throwing error allowed Doyle to reach first base and Gerety to score. Four walks dealt to Northeastern’s batters put the team up 16-3.
Freshman shortstop Kenny Noe was walked to put a runner on base for Monmouth in the bottom of the seventh inning. Walsh doubled down the left field line to advance Noe to third, who scored on a fielder’s choice by graduate student left fielder Chris Andrews, 16-4. Walsh was brought in on a balk by junior right-handed pitcher Joseph Hauser, 16-5.
A final strikeout by Hauser sealed Northeastern’s run-rule victory.
The Huskies earned a second run-rule victory with a 10-0 win April 26.
In the top of the second inning, Doyle walked and was advanced to third from a single by Musacchia. Brinker doubled to right center to score both runners and give the team a 2-0 lead.
Maldonado reached first on a fielder’s choice and stole second before being brought in by Goodman’s single in the top of the third inning, 3-0. Goodman stole second and reached third from a throwing error to put himself in scoring position. A single to right field by Musacchia scored Goodman and extended the lead to 4-0.
Northeastern scored six runs in the top of the sixth inning to go up 10-0. Maldonado doubled to right field to lead off the inning. Feinberg singled and reached second from a throwing error. Goodman singled to score Feinberg and Maldonado before stealing second and third base. A fielder’s choice allowed Musacchia to reach first and Maldonado to score. Lane reached on a throwing error,and Brinker doubled to right center field to bring in Musacchia and Lane. The final run of the contest came from a double by Gerety to score Brinker.
Junior right-handed pitcher Aiven Cabral recorded six strikeouts and allowed four hits in his six inning appearance. Graduate student right-handed pitcher Cooper McGrath ended the contest with a strikeout and a forced double play.
The Huskies went on to finish the weekend sweep with an 8-5 win April 27.
In the top of the second inning, Doyle singled and reached third from a throwing error. Lane’s sacrifice groundout allowed Doyle to score and put the team up 1-0.
Bozzo reached first and advanced to second on a throwing error to lead off the top of the third inning. Maldonado singled to bring in Bozzo and advance Gerety, who was hit by a pitch, to second base, making the score 2-0. Maldonado and Gerety stole second and third base before the latter scored from a sacrifice flyout by Feinberg, 3-0. Maldonado scored on a balk to put the Huskies up 4-0.
Northeastern extended its lead to 5-0 in the top of the fifth inning. Gerety doubled and advanced to third from a failed pickoff attempt. Feinberg doubled down the left field line to bring in Gerety.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Monmouth scored its first runs in 14 innings, cutting the lead to 5-3. Hunt singled to center field with the first hit of the inning, and a throwing error by Bozzo allowed Hunt to reach third. Sophomore catcher Brendan Buecker then singled to score Hunt. Bretschneider reached on a throwing error by Goodman, allowing Buecker and senior second baseman Andrew Schmid to score.
The Hawks leveled the score at 5-5 in the bottom of the seventh inning. Schmid singled to put a runner on, and graduate student center fielder Harry Padden doubled down the left field line to bring him in. Padden advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a single from Bretschneider.
Both teams failed to score in the eighth and ninth innings, sending the game into extra innings. Senior right-handed pitchers Brett Dunham and JD Greeley were on the mound of the Huskies and the Hawks, respectively, in the 10th inning. Greeley notched a strikeout for the Hawks and allowed zero hits in the top of the inning. Dunham’s three strikeouts in the bottom of the inning extended the contest.
In the top of the 11th inning, Maldonado singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch to lead off. Feinberg doubled to score Maldonado and give Northeastern the lead, 6-5. Feinberg advanced to third from Doyle’s flyout. Musacchia bunted to bring in Feinberg, 7-5. Lane singled to center field, allowing Musacchia to score from a throwing error, putting the team up 8-5.
Maldonado’s two stolen bases in the top of the third inning marked his 81st and 82nd career stolen bases, breaking the program record set in 2021.
With the game on the line, Dunham allowed one hit, logged one strikeout and forced two outs to lift the Huskies to an extra innings victory.
Northeastern will face off against the Harvard University Crimson (11-22, 8-9 Ivy League) in the final round of the Baseball Beanpot April 29 at Fenway Park.
