By Max Lederman

The Northeastern baseball team entered last weekend’s four-game series against America East bottomdweller Binghamton with the magic number down to two.

The situation was more dire than in years past, however, as NU is the only team in the conference that has never missed the tournament since it began in 1991. After sweeping the Binghamton Bearcats four games to none, they continued that trend.

In game two of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Huskies (24-21, 12-10 America East) wrapped up the regular season with a 5-1 victory over visiting Binghamton.

The Dogs got a stellar pitching performance from Jim Madison, who went the distance, giving up just two hits and one earned run while fanning four. The win brought Madison’s record up to 3-3.

Chris Emanuele homered in the first inning to give the Huskies the early one-run lead. The rest of the run support that Madison would need came with two outs in the third, when the Huskies put three more runs on the board with RBI hits from Arman Sidhu and Jeff Heriot to give NU the 4-0 lead. Sidhu and Heriot both went 2-3 in the game.

Game one started just as game two did, with an Emanuele jack in the first inning, but ended in much more dramatic fashion. With the Huskies trailing, 3-2, in the bottom of the seventh, Mike Steinberg singled to center, stole second, and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. With two outs, Tim Bush, who’s .368 batting average tops the conference, doubled to bring in Steinberg and tie the score at 3-3. Still, the Huskies could not manage to end the game in regulation.

In the eighth inning, Steinberg blasted a two-run walk off homer that gave the Huskies the 5-3 victory. Following his offensive heroics, Bush also picked up the win after pitching three scoreless innings in relief of starter Devin Monds.

On Friday, the Huskies pitching was the focus, as both Justin Hedrick and Brendan Ryan pitched complete games to shut down the Bearcats (10-40, 2-20 AE).

In game two, Ryan picked up his fourth consecutive victory (all complete games) to improve his record to 4-3 for the season. The win clinched a spot for NU in the conference tournament.

Ryan, who allowed only four hits and one earned run, has given up just three earned runs in his last 28 innings of work.

“In the beginning of the year I didn’t have control of my pitches and the team was struggling,” said Ryan. “I took it upon myself to perform better and to lead by example.”

Teammates and coaches alike share the perception.

“Brendan is a more vocal leader, and when you add that to what he’s doing on the mound, it’s a confidence booster for the whole team,” said Husky head coach Neil McPhee.

The senior co-captain got run support from Steinberg and Heriot, who both had RBIs in the 4-1 victory.

Game one witnessed yet another gem from the Huskies most dominant pitcher all season, Justin Hedrick. He gave up just four hits and one earned run while striking out 11 on his way to the 2-1 victory.

The win gives Hedrick a final regular season record of 6-1. Hedrick was dominant from the outset, striking out five batters in his first two innings of work. Hedrick’s 73 total strikeouts move him to sixth place on the NU all-time single-season strike out list, and fourth in the conference this season. NU sophomore Miguel Paquette went 2-3 and had an RBI in the win.

Tournament Preview:

The Huskies are set to face Vermont in Burlington on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the first round of the America East tournament at Centennial Field in Burlington, Vermont. The top-seeded Catamounts finished the regular season with a 17-5 conference record and an overall record of 32-12.

“Vermont is clearly a very good team,” McPhee said. “This is definitely the best team they’ve had in years.”

The Huskies were defeated by visiting Vermont in a doubleheader, 6-3, and 3-1, but remain confident.

“We feel good about the match up,” Hedrick said. “We know we can beat them, and to tell you the truth, a lot of us hate them.”

When compared to the Huskies, Vermont’s lineup sports an overwhelming advantage in experience.

“They’re a veteran team,” McPhee said. “Their better players are upperclassmen and three of their rotation guys are seniors.”

The age difference isn’t a concern for the Huskies, who had to claw their way into the playoffs after a horrendous start to the season.

“As young as we are, I think the team feels relaxed and confident. They’ve sure been playing like it,” McPhee added.

With the regular season over it is time for the Huskies to head into the tourney and make some things happen.

“It’s a rewarding feeling just getting here,” said Brad Czarnowski. “We know we belong here. Now it’s our time to shine.”