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WILMINGTON, N.C. – Catcher Josh Treff led the Northeastern baseball team with a single, a double, and a home run on Friday night against UNCW, but the Seahawks' offense rallied for six runs in the seventh inning as the Huskies suffered a 10-5 setback in its first CAA game of the year.
 
Treff homered to deep center field on the second pitch he saw from UNCW starter Nick Monroe in the first inning and went on to double down the left-field line during his second at-bat of the game in the second. The redshirt-junior from Salem, New Hampshire, also singled during his third at-bat in the fourth, finishing the game a triple short of hitting for the cycle.
 
Cam Hanley and Michael Foster both continued their respective hit streaks against the Seahawks on Friday. Hanley extended his hit streak to 12 consecutive games after going two-for-five as the Huskies' designated hitter, while Foster saved his hit streak and pushed it to 10 straight games with a single coming during his final at-bat of the game during the ninth.
 
Senior co-captain and CAA Pitcher of the Week Nick Berger allowed four runs, three earned, on eight hits in 5.0 innings on the mound for Northeastern (7-10, 0-1 CAA). A go-ahead home run by Rob Fonseca in the fifth inning put Berger in line for his third win of the season with a 5-4 lead, but UNCW (13-6, 1-0 CAA) batted around in the seventh to steal the conference opener.
 
Fonseca also singled during the first inning and walked in the ninth, reaching base in three of his five plate appearances during the game. Freshmen Maxwell Burt started his 17th game of the year and went two-for-four at the dish, bumping up his season batting average to an even .300. Burt and teammate Pat Madigan are the only two NU players to have started all 17 games for Northeastern this season.
 
The Huskies navigated Seahawks' starter Monroe well during the first inning as each of the first four NU hitters reached base safely. After Treff's lead-off home run, NU loaded the bases and Madigan grounded into a 6-4-3 double play that allowed Hanley to score from third, giving Northeastern a 2-0 advantage.
 
UNCW followed the Huskies' three hits in the first with three hits of its own during the bottom half of the frame, cutting Northeastern's lead to 2-1 on an RBI single by catcher Gavin Stupienski.
 
NU responded in the top of the second by orchestrating another two-run rally off Monroe as Burt followed a lead-off walk by Koppens with a base-hit that put two runners aboard. Koppens would score on Treff's double during the next at-bat to put Northeastern ahead, 3-1, and Burt tagged from third on a sacrifice fly by Foster, giving the Huskies a 4-1 edge.
 
The Seahawks would answer back again during the home half of the second. Zach Shields ripped one of his three hits with the bases loaded to make Northeastern's lead, 4-2, and Berger walked Dunlap, scoring Robbie Thorburn from third to make it 4-3.
 
Although Berger would surrender the game-tying run on an RBI double to Kennard McDowell in the third, Fonseca would tee off on the first pitch Monroe dealt during the top of the fifth inning, putting NU back in front, 5-4. Berger would strike out Dunlap during his final inning on the mound in the fifth and ended the game with three strikeouts.
 
Although Aaron Civale handled the Seahawks with relative ease during his first relief inning in the sixth, UNCW rallied for six runs on seven hits during the seventh and took a commanding 10-5 lead late with just two innings to play. Burt would advance as far as second base in the eighth and the Huskies would put Foster and Fonseca on base during the ninth, but UNCW reliever Whitman Barnes kept Northeastern scoreless during the final four innings of the game as the Seahawks won the series opener.
 
NU will meet UNCW in the second game of their CAA-opening series this weekend on Saturday, March 21, at 2 p.m. The series finale is scheduled for Sunday, March 22, at 11 a.m.