By Max Lederman
Sometimes it’s a fraction of an inch that can alter an entire game of baseball. One called strike or one diving catch that can win a game for your team. Sometimes it takes just one win to turn around a season.
After starting the season 7-16, the Northeastern baseball team was just begging for just such – a season-altering moment.
“The team can add and subtract,” said Husky coach Neil McPhee. “They know where we stand in the conference and what we have to do to get back in the standings.”
The Dogs got that win last Thursday on one of the most legendary fields in baseball history, Fenway Park. After winning the consolation game of the baseball Beanpot last weekend, the Huskies turned that momentum into victories in four of their next five games.
Not only did NU win those four games, they out-hit their opponents 30-11 during the five game span.
Although the run support was there, Husky pitchers Brendan Ryan and Jordan Thomson did not need it; both pitchers recorded complete-game shutouts Sunday at Freidman Diamond against Hartford.
“When you get good pitching along with timely hitting it’s hard for you to beat yourself,” McPhee said.
In game one, Thompson pitched a gem, striking out five batters and scattering two hits over seven innings in a 3-0 defeat of the Hawks.
NU third baseman Jeff Maher contributed two RBI and Omar Pena scored twice while going 1-for-2 at the plate, including a solo homer, in the winning effort. Pena’s long ball was his second of the season and increased his RBI total to 12 for the 2003 campaign. Mike Steinberg and Arman Sidhu also batted 1-for-2 for the Dogs.
In game two of Sunday’s doubleheader, Ryan, who came into the game with a 9.30 ERA, got his first win of the season by fanning five, walking just one batter and giving up only five hits.
The Huskies used timely batting to complement Ryan’s stingy pitching.
In the third inning, the Huskies scattered four hits and walked once for three runs. Freshmen Matt Morizio and Arman Sidhu had back-to-back hits before co-captain Brad Czarnowski showed off his speed with an infield single to load the bases Chris Emanuele. Emanuele, last weeks America East Rookie of the Week, cleared the bases with a double down the left field line.
Pena delivered an insurance run in the sixth with a two-out single that scored Tim Bush, who reached base with a triple.
Despite a solid outing last Friday by Justin Hedrick, the most consistent Husky starter so far this season, the Huskies were unable to pull out a victory, dropping game two of their first doubleheader of the weekend, 3-for-5.
Hedrick went four and two-thirds innings, giving up three runs on three hits while striking out seven. Tim Bush went 2-for-2 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored, but lost his second decision on the season by giving up two runs while relieving Hedrick.
In the Huskies first game of the weekend, sophomore right-hander Devin Monds fanned nine batters over six innings for his second victory of the season, a 7-4 decision.
Emanuele went 2-for-3 and scored two runs for NU, while Jeff Heriot continued to hit the ball well, going1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored.
With only 12 games remaining before the conference tournament, the Huskies seem to have finally found their wheels and are on a roll.
Seven out of their remaining games are against conference opponents and McPhee feels splits aren’t an option.
“The team knows that if we split a weekend, we probably have to sweep another,” McPhee said.
NU also defeated Central Connecticut, 10-6, in a non-league game Tuesday afternoon in New Britain.
“We knew it was only a matter of time before we got all of our pieces together,” said Emanuele.
Pena broke out of his slump, going 4-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored.
The victory improved the Huskies record to 12-17 and is their third in a row.
Emanuele continued his solid play by going 2-5 and scoring one run.
