The Northeastern baseball team (20-15, 10-5 CAA) won three of four games April 10 to 12, sweeping Merrimack College (13-19, 8-7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) in two games, 11-10 and 9-2, and splitting games against the University of Maine Black Bears (9-23, 5-4 America East), with a 5-0 loss and a 13-5 win.
A consistent bright spot for the Huskies was redshirt senior left fielder Harrison Feinberg who earned CAA player of the week honors for his offensive showing. Feinberg hit three home runs in Sunday’s game alone and leads the CAA in slugging percentage, OPS, RBIs and home runs.
Friday’s matchup was an offensive showcase with 21 runs scored between the two teams. Despite Merrimack jumping to an 8-4 lead, the Huskies battled back to take an 11-10 win in 12 innings.
Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Robbie O’Connor started for Northeastern, giving up the most runs he has allowed all season at five earned runs in just 3.2 innings. The bullpen gave up three runs the rest of the way, but the Huskies’ bats did enough to salvage the win. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Andrew Rogovic worked in relief for four innings, notching eight strikeouts and only giving up one run.
The Huskies struck first in the bottom of the first inning, thanks to Feinberg. After a 1-2-3 top of the inning, back-to-back doubles for junior center fielder Ryan Gerety and Feinberg sent Gerety across the plate and put Northeastern up 1-0.
The Warriors answered in the top of the first as Northeastern’s defense struggled with two errors, a costly wild pitch and a hit-by-pitch. After Merrimack’s senior first baseman Greg Cristino was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, redshirt sophomore designated hitter Jack Andrews knocked a single to left center to advance him to second before he advanced to third on a fielder’s choice.
With runners on the corners, a throwing error by Northeastern’s freshman third baseman Tyler Harmony scored Cristino and put runners on first and second. A fielding error by redshirt freshman first baseman AJ Aschettino during the next at-bat loaded the bases with two outs. Then, a wild pitch advanced all the runners, putting Merrimack up 2-1 before the end of the inning.
After a scoreless bottom of the second and third innings, both teams hit in the fourth. Another hit-by-pitch opened up the top of the inning before the runner was thrown out on a fielder’s choice hit by Merrimack’s freshman catcher Garrett McGovern. McGovern then advanced twice on two wild pitches to land himself on third as senior centerfielder Chris Goode reached first on a walk.
On the first pitch sophomore second baseman Matt DeShiro saw, he homered to center field to put Merrimack up 5-1. The Warriors’ offense didn’t stop there as junior shortstop Brooks Craigue doubled down the left field line before advancing to third on another wild pitch. A single to shallow left scored Craigue before junior right-handed pitcher Nick Coniglio replaced O’Connor on the mound.
Coniglio lacked control and allowed Merrimack to build its lead. After giving up a single to shallow right, Coniglio walked the next three batters, two of which on four straight pitches, to score two more for Merrimack. Coniglio was then taken out and replaced by redshirt sophomore lefthander David McSweeney, who struck out the only batter he faced.
With Northeastern now facing an 8-1 deficit, patience at the plate helped the team fight back in the bottom of the inning. After a walk for sophomore catcher Cooper Tarantino and a hit-by-pitch for freshman second baseman Charlie Criscola, sophomore right fielder Carter Bentley singled to short to load the bases. Harmony then walked to send Tarantino home, and a single for Gerety scored two runners to cut Merrimack’s lead to 8-4.
Bats remained quiet for the next two innings until Northeastern began scoring again in the bottom of the seventh. After Feinberg was hit by a pitch and stole second and third, Aschettino tripled to right center to bring him home. Then, an RBI groundout for Tarantino brought Aschettino home and cut Merrimack’s once seven-run lead down to two.
An RBI double for Merrimack increased the gap momentarily, but Feinberg once again came up huge for Northeastern in the bottom of the eighth.
After Harmony singled to left and Gerety walked on four pitches, Feinberg slammed a homer to deep center to tie the game at nine. A scoreless ninth sent the once-hopeless game to extras.
In the top of the 11th, a single and a walk put a runner in scoring position for Merrimack with no outs. Then, a wild pitch put the runners on second and third, posing a dangerous situation for Northeastern. A sacrifice fly advanced the runners and gave Merrimack back the lead, 10-9.
Needing to score to stay alive, the Huskies found ways to get runners on base. After Aschettino doubled down the left field line and Criscola singled to left to send him to third, Bentley hit a sacrifice bunt to score Aschettino and tie the game.
After Merrimack failed to score in the top of the 12th, it was up to the Huskies to end it. A double for Gerety on the first pitch he saw put Northeastern in a good position with Feinberg up next to the plate. Merrimack refused to take its chance with the CAA player of the week, intentionally walking him.
After senior designated hitter Matt Brinker was hit by a pitch on the first pitch of his at-bat, bases were loaded with no outs, and Aschettino did just what he needed to do. A sacrifice fly to left field walked it off and gave Northeastern an 11-10 win in the offensive thriller.
The Huskies took the first game of Saturday’s double-header, winning 9-2 over Merrimack.
Both teams failed to generate much offense through the first five innings of the contest. Defensively, senior right-handed pitcher Ryan Griffin dealt six strikeouts and allowed just three hits.
Northeastern broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth inning. Gerety walked before Feinberg hit a home run to left field to put his team up 2-0. A solo homer from Brinker extended the Huskies’ lead to three.
In the top of the seventh, the Warriors brought the score within one. Freshman center fielder Brett McKinnon walked and stole second base before advancing to third on a groundout. A fielding error by redshirt freshman left fielder Anthony Ruggiero allowed Deshiro to reach first and McKinnon to score. Craigue singled to left field to bring DeShiro in from second base.
Five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning gave the Huskies a sizable 8-2 lead. Ruggiero led off with a single. Fosberg walked to advance Bentley, who was pinch running for Ruggiero, to second. Harmony was hit by a pitch to advance both runners and a walk scored Bentley. Gerety singled to left center to bring in Fosberg, and Feinberg hit a sacrifice fly to score Harmony. With the bases loaded, Brinker walked to put DiGiorgio across the plate. A sacrifice fly by Criscola brought in the final run of the inning.
The Huskies put up their final run in the bottom of the eighth inning. A hit-by-pitch and two walks loaded the bases for Feinberg, who hit a sacrifice fly to score.
Three quick outs by freshman right-handed pitcher Cooper Maher sealed a 9-2 win for Northeastern.
The Huskies were unable to carry this momentum into their second game of the day, falling to Maine 5-0.
The Black Bears got started in the top of the second inning when graduate student right fielder Juju Stevens doubled down the right field line and advanced to third on a groundout. Freshman first baseman Hunter St. Denis then hit a sacrifice fly to score Stevens and give his team a 1-0 lead.
Once again, the teams struggled to generate offense through the next four innings, only managing a combined two hits — both of which came from Husky batters.
In the top of the seventh inning, Maine broke the stalemate, doubling its lead. Stevens was hit by a pitch before advancing to third on a throwing error by DiGiorgio. St. Denis singled to bring in Stevens.
The Black Bears scored three insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning. Freshman third baseman Troy Carpenter led off with a single to right center field. Stevens was then hit by his second pitch of the day, and junior catcher Shane Andrus put down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners to scoring position. St. Denis singled to center field to bring in Carpenter and Stevens. Finally, senior shortstop Chris Bear hit an RBI single to right field to score St. Denis and put his team up 5-0.
Northeastern had some hope in the bottom of the ninth inning when a single and a hit-by-pitch put two runners on. However, a strike and two groundouts quickly squashed the Huskies’ chance at a comeback.
The Huskies came out on Sunday determined to avenge their loss, and they succeeded. Northeastern defeated Maine 13-5 with Feinberg delivering three home runs.
In the bottom of the first inning, after Crisola struck out, Feinberg sent his first homer of the game into left field.
Maine bounced back in the top of the third. Sophomore left fielder Christopher Mondesir hit a double before being brought home on a dinger from senior catcher Nolan DeAndrade for a 2-1 scoreboard.
Northeastern regained the lead in the fourth. After Brinker grounded out, Aschettino singled before stealing second base. Harmony singled to bring Aschettino home before Bentley hit a single to send Harmony to second base. Fosberg hit a double to score Harmony and advance Bentley to third. DiGiorgio grounded out, but his hit brought in Bentley and advanced Fosberg to third. After a Criscola walk and a steal of second base, Feinberg flied the ball out to center field, ending the inning at 4-2.
At the top of the fifth, Northeastern replaced redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Ryan McCarroll with graduate student righthander Matthiew Sapienza. McCarroll worked in relief for four innings, striking four batters and allowing three hits with two errors.
Mondesir singled to left field before scoring on DeAndrade’s double down right field. Junior second baseman Nic Pepe hit another double, sending DeAndrade home.
In the bottom of the inning, Maine also changed pitchers. The Black Bears replaced senior righthander Vaun Larisa with freshman right-handed pitcher Thomas Stabley. Aschettino singled before stealing second base, then scored from second on a Harmony single.
Northeastern held strong, not allowing any runs in the top of the sixth while earning five runs. DiGiorgio singled before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Criscola singled to get to first and put DiGiorgio on third. Feinberg hit his second home run to add three runs to the scoreboard. Brinker then doubled deep into left field before scoring from an Aschettino single. Aschettino then stole third base on an error by DeAndrade. Harmony was caught stealing to end the inning at 10-4.
Mondesir homered to cut the deficit in half, but no other Black Bears could add on runs.
Maine changed Stabley to redshirt senior southpaw Sebastian Holt. This change didn’t stop the Huskies. Bentley homered himself, and DiGiorgio singled before stealing second base. He scored on the third and final Feinberg home run.
The final two innings were a defensive battle as no more runs were scored with Northeastern bringing in graduate student right-hander Andrew Wertz, who struck out two batters and recorded two hitless innings.
