The Northeastern baseball team (12-9, 7-2 CAA) won a weekend series against the Elon University Phoenix (10-13, 3-6 CAA), taking two of three games March 20 to 22.
In the March 20 matchup, the Phoenix got on the board first in the top of the first inning, getting two runs across the plate. Senior second baseman Jackson Alford led off with a single before being brought in by another single from graduate student left fielder Brian Duroff. A sacrifice groundout by junior right fielder Jared Hall brought in junior designated hitter Kevin Denty for his team’s second run.
A successful bottom of the first inning by the Husky batters quickly earned them the lead.
Junior center fielder Ryan Gerety started off with a single to right field. From there, Elon’s defense struggled, hitting back-to-back batters with pitches to load the bases. Three errors by the Phoenix, a wild pitch and three RBIs gave Northeastern a 7-2 lead.
Offense for both teams stalled in the second and third innings with no runs scored.
“We’re deep enough in the season where they know not to panic,” head coach Mike Glavine said.
Elon scored its third run of the game off an RBI single by freshman infielder Gar Hindle in the top of the fourth before the Huskies extended their lead once again.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, senior designated hitter Matt Brinker doubled before senior shortstop Carmelo Musacchia brought him in on a two-run home run to make the score 9-3.
Spurred by more defensive errors by the Phoenix, the bottom of the fifth inning was another productive inning for the Huskies’ offense, putting them up 13-3.
Sophomore right fielder Carter Bentley singled and reached second on a throwing error by Hindle before stealing third. Junior second baseman Chris Walsh hit an RBI single to score Bentley. Walsh and Gerety, who was walked, advanced to second and third on a pickoff error by sophomore right-handed pitcher Eric Lintelman. Redshirt senior left fielder Harrison Feinberg hit a single to bring in Walsh and Gerety, and an RBI single from Brinker scored Feinberg.
The Northeastern bats kept going in the bottom of the sixth inning, adding to the gap for a 17-3 scoreboard. Sophomore catcher Cooper Tarantino walked and advanced to third on a double by redshirt freshman third baseman AJ Aschettino before reaching home on an RBI groundout by Bentley. Walsh hit a two-run home run to clear the bases, and Feinberg’s solo home run rounded out the inning.
In the top of the seventh inning, Elon put two more runs across the plate from two singles, an RBI fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly out.
The Huskies logged the final three outs to secure the mercy rule win, 17-5.
In the second game of the weekend, the Huskies fell to the Phoenix 3-2. Senior right-handed pitcher Luc Rising had a strong outing, yet three errors from Northeastern allowed for three unearned runs for Elon.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Huskies jumped out to an early lead. Feinberg walked to first after a Gerety single to left field. Then, after a double steal, the runners were both in scoring position. Musacchia put down a sacrifice bunt to score Gerety for the 1-0 lead.
The Huskies added another one in the third frame after Walsh and Brinker both walked to put two on the bases. A Musacchia single to left drove in Walsh, but a pickoff to second base ended the inning soon after.
In the fourth, Elon tied the game with two unearned runs. A fielding error by Walsh allowed the leadoff man on base. Then, a hit-by-pitch put runners on first and second for two back-to-back singles, which added on the two runs.
In the seventh, the Phoenix took the lead starting off with a leadoff single and sacrifice bunt to move the runner to second before a groundout advanced him to third. A throwing error by Aschettino allowed the runner to score, giving Elon the 3-2 lead.
Despite a single and stolen second from Feinberg in the eighth, the Huskies could not get their bats hot enough to bring him in. This was Feinberg’s 13th stolen base of the season.
In the ninth, Northeastern went down in order, unable to answer back and tie the game against Elon’s closer.
Despite the loss, Rising dealt a very strong outing. Throughout seven innings, he did not allow one earned run but struck out six batters. He kept the Phoenix to just three hits and one walk while inducing seven groundouts.
Graduate student right-handed pitcher Matthew Sapienza closed out the game with two scoreless innings of relief. He allowed no hits and struck out three of the six batters he faced.
Northeastern got back on the winning track March 22, winning the final game and taking the series 17-7 in eight innings.
Elon grabbed the lead at the top of the first inning, going up 1-0. Alford singled to lead off before reaching second on a walk and third on a fielder’s choice. Denty hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring in Alford.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Huskies leveled the score at 1-1. Gerety started off batting with a single before scoring from first on the back of a double to right field by Feinberg.
Northeastern added two more runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 3-1 lead. Aschettino walked and advanced to second on a balk to put himself in scoring position. Walsh knocked a double into left field to bring in Aschettino. Gerety scored Walsh with an infield RBI single.
Husky batters put seven runs across the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning. Brinker doubled to left field to bring in Walsh and Gerety, who were on base from a hit-by-pitch and a single, respectively. Musacchia homered to left center field to bring himself and Brinker back to home plate. Tarantino doubled down the left field line and stole third base to put himself in scoring position, and Ruggiero walked and stole second to put them both in scoring position. Bentley then tripled to center field to score both Ruggiero and Tarantino. Finally, a fielding error by Hall gave Northeastern a 10-1 lead.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Phoenix scored three runs. Back-to-back singles put two on before DuRoff batted in graduate student catcher Gavin Bogdanchik. Denty followed with a triple to right center field to bring in Alford and DuRoff.
Not to be outdone, the Huskies also brought in three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, extending the lead to 13-4.
Gerety walked and advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt before scoring on a double to center field by Feinberg. Brinker walked and Musaccia singled to left field to put two on. Tarantino notched the third triple of the contest to bring in both.
Northeastern kept the trend going in the next inning, scoring three more runs. Two walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases before an error by Hindle allowed all three runners to score and make the game 16-4.
Elon scored its final three runs of the series in the top of the seventh inning. Three walks put three runners on base for redshirt junior second baseman Lawson Wheeler, who knocked in a run with a single to right field. Another single by Hall brought in another run. A third single by sophomore shortstop Jake Hajdu gave the Phoenix their seventh run.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Feinberg walked and scored from a double by Musacchia to finish off the mercy rule win, 17-7.
Northeastern will look to continue its winning streak against cross-town rivals, the Boston College Eagles (16-8, 6-3 Atlantic Coastal Conference), at home March 24 at 2:30 p.m.
