BOSTON – Riding a five-game win streak following a three-game sweep of James Madison, Northeastern looks to keep up the energy with two midweek non-conference games. The Huskies welcome Rhode Island at 3 p.m. on Tuesday and Massachusetts at 3 p.m. on Wednesday to continue an eight-game homestand.
The Huskies enter the week at 15-11 (5-7 CAA) carrying some big momentum, both from the pitching staff and from the bats. In their last five games, Northeastern has accumulated 19 extra-base hits (nine doubles, nine triples and a
Brad Burcroff home run) and has stolen 12 bases. On the mound, senior
Kevin Ferguson was just named CAA Co-Pitcher of the Week after blanking JMU in a complete-game, 11 strikeout performance in the 5-0 Sunday win.
Individually, a few Huskies have shined in the mid-season streak. Over the last five games,
Jason Vosler has batted .421 (8-for-19) with six runs scored and six RBI to help the Huskies kick start a five-game win streak, including a sweep of James Madison. The sophomore compiled a double, a triple four walks and two stolen bases on the week as well.
Connor Lyons scored at least one run in each of the last five games and had five RBI on six hits. The junior center fielder from Bedford, N.H., is riding a seven-game hit streak. On a similar note,
Rob Fonseca is currently boasting an eight-game hit streak and has at least one hit in 18 of the Huskies' last 20 games. The sophomore has reached base safely in 17 consecutive games to boot.
On the mound, the Huskies have kept the train rolling with an impressive performances through the first half of the season. With a collective 3.16 ERA, Northeastern is tops in the conference in team pitching, giving up the fewest hits (205), runs (92) and earned runs (79) in the league. The now-regular weekend rotation of freshman
Nick Cubarney (3-1, 1.66 ERA),
Nick Berger (3-4, 3.20 ERA) and
Kevin Ferguson (4-2, 2.01 ERA) have been stalwarts on the hill, but the supporting cast has been influential as well. Sophomore
Isaac Lippert (2-0, 2.14 ERA) and junior
Matt Cook (1-0, 3.62 ERA) continue to excel as weekday starters, and closer
Dylan Maki (1-1, 2.35 ERA) is another dynamic option from the bullpen, just recently surpassing 13 career saves, an NU school record.
Rheading Rhody
Rhode Island (11-14, 1-2 A10) enters the Tuesday matchup 2-3 in its last five outings, but 9-3 in its last 12. The Rams are led at the plate by a variety of players, including freshman Connor Foreman, who's batting .339 (19-for-56) in 21 appearances and senior Mike LeBel, who is responsible for a team-high 16 RBI and owns the Rams' only home run this season. Pat Fortunato can drive the ball as well, pounding out a team-best eight extra-base hits (six doubles and two triples). On the bump, the Rams boast a slew of solid pitching. Sean Furney leads the team with his 1.66 ERA and 3-2 record in seven appearances. Furney has fanned 33 batters in 48.2 innings of work.
NU is 51-59-1 all-time against Rhody, losing five in a row to the Rams, including an 8-3 and 7-1 loss in two games last season.
Amassing UMass
The Minutemen come to Brookline on Wednesday with a 3-13 record, going 0-3 in conference play. UMass, which will prep for the Bay State showdown with a Tuesday date with Siena, recently took two of three against NJIT with its other win coming in the third game of the season against Ohio.
UMass is a young squad with just four seniors on the roster. Leading the way at the dish are Adam Picard and Ryan Cusick for the Minutemen. Picard owns a .286 average (14-for-49) with four doubles, a home run and a team-best seven RBI, while Cusick is batting .283 (17-for-60) with nine runs scored, and seven RBI.
DJ Jauss (1-3, 2.90 ERA), Jordan Pace (1-2, 3.21 ERA) and Andrew Grant (1-3, 6.48 ERA) represent the weekend rotation, while Connor LeBlanc (0-2, 7.43 ERA) and Aaron Plunkett (0-0, 5.14 ERA) compete for time out of the bullpen. Jauss and Pace lead the team with 22 and 23 strikeouts, respectively, on the year.
Northeastern has had more success against the Minutemen than against Rhody, going 41-40 against UMass all-time. The Huskies have lost three straight in the series, but were winners of 10 in a row from 2004-10.
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