Box Score

Game 43
Final Score	UNCW 7, Northeastern 6 (L, Mulry 2-1)
Records	NU 24-19 (8-11 CAA), UNCW (33-13, 14-4 CAA)
Next Game	Saturday, May 4 at UNCW (Wilmington, N.C.), 2 p.m.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Northeastern gave up five runs in the first inning and issued a season-high 12 walks, but the Huskies (24-19, 8-11 CAA) still nearly toppled UNCW (33-13, 14-4 CAA), dropping a close Friday opener to the Seahawks, 7-6, at Brooks Field.

Aaron Barbosa and Michael Foster led the charge at the plate for NU, each grabbing three hits on the evening, followed by Brad Burcroff who finished with a pair of hits, a run and an RBI. James Mulry earned his first loss of the season after giving up the five runs in the opening frame to the Seahawks.

Barbosa led off the game, dropping a single in no-man's land in right -- just before earning his record-tying 66th career stolen base -- but no one was able to bring him in for the game's first run. On the flip side, UNCW's Michael Bass hit a leadoff double, stole third and came home on a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0. Even though Mulry struck out LaGrange for what would have been an inning-ender, the pitch was wild and allowed LaGrange to reach first. After walking Keeler, Wolfe smashed a three-run home run to quickly turn the tide and make it a 4-0 UNCW lead. The Seahawks would add one more run in the frame, thanks to a single through the left side with two men on.

Michael Foster worked quickly to lead off the second inning, snaking a hit down the right field line to get himself into scoring position. After Connor Lyons flew out to left, John Puttress advanced Foster to third on a bang-bang play at first. Pete Castoldi made sure his teammate got across with two outs, though with a single to the left field gap to make it 5-1.

The Seahawks kept up the pace in the second, and were relentless at the plate, starting off with back-to-back doubles with no outs. Mulry, however, settled in and struck out two and forced a groundout to end the frame unscathed. The Huskies used the third inning to take back some of UNCW's first-inning scores. Barbosa led off with another single and immediately used his wheels to come home on a booming RBI double from Brad Burcroff. Though Vosler grounded to second for the first out, the play moved Burcroff to third, just in time for a sac fly from Rob Fonseca to cut the deficit to two, at 5-3.

LaGrange drew a leadoff walk in the fourth, and Keeler made it two in a row for the Seahawks in the next at bat, prompting a pitching change in favor of sophomore Isaac Lippert. Lippert got Wolfe to fly out, but another walk followed by a single drove another UNCW runner home to make it 6-3.

Freshman Brad McLean came on in relief of Lippert in the bottom of the fifth, but the Seahawks used a wild pitch to steal another run to make it 7-3. The sixth inning proved more productive for the Huskies, who used back-to-back doubles from Fonseca and Foster, followed by a single from Puttress, to bring Northeastern within three.

The next two innings featured just a hit apiece for the Seahawks, but NU grabbed another run in the top of the seventh. For the second straight inning, the Huskies started off the inning with consecutive hits -- singles from Barbosa and Burcroff -- this time resulting in a Barbosa run off a wild pitch, bringing the Huskies within one, 7-6. But Northeastern was halted by UNCW's Kelly Seacrest, who came on in the ninth to earn the save with two strikeouts to end the game.

The two clubs will do battle on Saturday at 2 p.m. as the Huskies try to even the series.