Northeastern baseball (16-14, 10-4 CAA) pulled off a valuable series victory, notching two wins and a loss against CAA-leading Monmouth University Hawks (15-13, 11-4 CAA) April 2-4. The Huskies kicked off the weekend with a 7-1 triumph April 2, fueled by redshirt junior right-hander Robbie O’Connor on the mound. Across six innings, O’Connor dealt eight punchouts and allowed just one run on four hits.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth. Redshirt freshman first baseman AJ Aschettino got things going and singled to score senior designated hitter Matt Brinker, who laid in wait at second. Sophomore right fielder Carter Bentley singled and advanced to second, sending Aschettino to third.
With both runners in scoring position, freshman second baseman Charlie Criscola knocked a 2-RBI single to score Bentley and Aschettino and put the Huskies up 3-0.
Monmouth struggled to get their response across with O’Connor fanning two batters in the top of the fifth.
In the sixth, junior second baseman Wyatt Hunt singled before a hit-by-pitch put him at second. After a visit to the mound and a timeout by Monmouth, senior third baseman Simmi Whitehill singled to put Hunt in scoring position. Senior left fielder Nick Lovarco delivered a sacrifice fly to right field, sending Hunt across the plate and making the score 3-1.
Freshman righty Cooper Maher clinched his first save in the Husky uniform, taking the mound for the final three innings and delivering a clean, one-hit performance while issuing two strikeouts.
The Huskies came alive in the bottom of the seventh, where they added four runs. After the Hawks swapped graduate student right-handed pitcher Kevin Opanel for sophomore righty Ryan Mealy, Criscola walked.
Northeastern’s junior third baseman Chris Walsh dropped a sacrifice bunt and advanced Criscola from first to third before senior shortstop Carmelo Musacchia doubled to left field to add another run for the Huskies.
Junior center fielder Ryan Gerety followed with a double to right field that scored Musacchia from second base, and the scoreboard read 5-1 for the Huskies. After Feinberg walked and stole second, both him and Gerety crossed the plate for the Huskies on a failed pickoff attempt and an error, sealing the much-needed 7-1 home win for the Huskies.
Friday’s game saw Northeastern jump out to an early 3-0 lead before pitching fell apart in the sixth.
After a scoreless first and top of the second, Northeastern bats got hot in the bottom of the inning. Bentley singled followed by a double from Criscola that put runners on the corners for Fosberg. On the first pitch he saw, he drove a double to right field to score both runners. A single by center field by Musacchia sent Fosberg home to put Northeastern up 3-0 before he was caught stealing to end the inning.
Monmouth earned its first run in the top of the fourth off a home run to left center, but the Huskies answered in the bottom of the inning. After Bentley walked and stole second, Walsh singled to left field and brought the score to 4-1.
Things got rockier for Northeastern in the top of the fifth when a costly error led to an unearned run on top of an RBI double. Sophomore center fielder Colin Richter walked and stole second before Hunt doubled to right center to bring him home. In a bad pickoff attempt by senior right-handed pitcher Luc Rising, Hunt advanced to third, setting him up to score on an RBI groundout by Monmouth’s junior first baseman Chris Walsh to cut the Huskies’ lead to just one run.
In the bottom of the inning, Brinker singled before Aschettino doubled down the right field line to bring him home and put Northeastern up 5-3 for what looked to be some breathing room. Unfortunately, that assurance was quickly erased in the top of the sixth.
Lovarco singled to left before a successful bunt by junior catcher Brendan Buecker put him on second. A single for sophomore designated hitter Jake Howlett loaded the bases for the Hawks, with no outs before graduate student right-handed pitcher Matthew Sapienza came in to replace Rising.
On the first pitch Sapienza threw another successful bunt, scored a runner and kept the bases loaded. After earning his first strike, Sapienza then hit Richter with a pitch to tie the game and keep bases loaded. The first out of the inning finally came on a sacrifice fly to center, but it also scored another run before another sacrifice fly put the Hawks up 7-5. Finally, the Huskies got out of the inning off a pop up in foul territory, but the damage had been dealt.
After a scoreless seventh and eighth, back-to-back singles and another failed pickoff attempt gave Monmouth runners on second and third with no outs. A single knocked to right field scored another run for Monmouth to put it up 8-5.
In the bottom of the ninth, consecutive singles to lead off the inning made it seem like the Huskies had a chance. After Feinberg struck out, Brinker singled to short, but it was enough to get Musacchia home and put Gerety on second. A fielder’s choice put Gerety on third and the tying run at first, but another fielder’s choice ended the game in an 8-6 loss for Northeastern.
Northeastern dominated offensively on Saturday to clinch the series in a 13-1 mercy rule walk off.
The Huskies fell behind early, courtesy of a home run by Monmouth’s Walsh giving the Hawks a 1-0 lead. The Huskies weren’t behind for long, as they added five runs in the bottom of the first inning, cycling through their entire batting order.
A walk by Musacchia and a double by Feinberg put Musacchia at third and himself on second. Brinker was then hit by a pitch to load the bases with only one out.
Aschettino then struck a double, scoring two runners, Musacchia and Feinberg, and bringing Brinker to third. Sophomore catcher Cooper Tarantino grounded out, giving Monmouth its second out of the inning, but the scoring didn’t stop there as Aschettino advanced to third and Brinker crossed the plate.
Bentley drew a walk before stealing second base, putting two runners in scoring position for Criscola. Criscola struck an infield hit which may not have looked promising, but the Huskies have been strong base runners all year and showed it with a highlight-reel worthy play, as Aschettino booked it to home plate and Criscola beat out the throw at first. Taking advantage of the confusion, Bentley made a mad dash around the bases and was able to reach home plate, much to the delight of the home fans, giving the Huskies a 5-1 lead in just the first inning.
The Huskies’ pitching managed to back up their offensive explosion with a strong showing from senior right-handed starting pitcher Ryan Griffin, who held strong through six innings with nine strikeouts, two hits and only one run conceded in the first inning. Griffin was ably supported by sophomore right-handed pitcher Andrew Rogovic, pitching two stellar innings in relief and striking out five of the six batters he faced, putting an exclamation point on an excellent afternoon.
The Monmouth pitching staff did not fare as well as the Huskies, as the Hawks’ senior right-handed pitcher Brendan Kenneally did not last beyond the third inning and was replaced by freshman right-handed pitcher Cory Pascarella.
Pascarella lasted the longest of the Hawks pitchers, pitching four innings, giving up two hits, three walks and only one earned run. Senior righty David Horvath replaced graduate student left-handed pitcher Jake Danyluk in the eighth inning, but was ineffective as the Huskies tacked on six consecutive hits against him without conceding a single out.
A walk-off three-run homer from Brinker was the nail in the coffin, giving the Huskies a mercy rule victory and elevating the team within one game of the Hawks in the CAA North standings.
With five weekends of CAA action on the horizon and the Baseball Beanpot approaching, fans can hope that the Huskies will carry this momentum forward.
Northeastern heads to Harvard University (5-16, 4-4 Ivy League) April 7 for the first round of the Baseball Beanpot before hosting Merrimack College (13-15, 8-7 MAAC) and the University of Maine (7-22, 5-4 AE) in a non-conference series at Friedman Diamond starting Friday, April 10.
