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BOSTON – Sophomore pitcher Nate Borges threw the longest outing of his career, 6.1 innings, to lead the Northeastern baseball team against Connecticut, but a six-run rally helped catapult UConn to a 9-1 victory against the Huskies on Tuesday.
 
Borges dueled for the majority of the game with Connecticut starter Andrew Zapata, ultimately allowing just three earned runs on eight hits while walking three and striking out four. Zapata managed to complete 7.0 innings on the mound for the Huskies, striking out five NU hitters while surrendering just one run.
 
Designated hitter Rob Fonseca began the day with two singles during his first two at-bats, but finished the game going two-for-four. Cam Hanley, who has started at first base during each of the last four games, went one-for-four from the plate with a single coming in the ninth.
 
Sophomore Jimmy Hand led off the top of the third inning with a double, the second of his two-year career. Of Hand's six career hits, four have now landed for extra bases, including two doubles, a triple, and a home run.
 
Shortstop Michael Foster went one-for-four out of the lead-off spot in the batting order for Northeastern (11-19, 4-5 CAA), while teammate Joey Scambia picked up his 18th RBI of the season on a fielder's choice as the Huskies' number two hitter.
 
Pat Madigan also kept his reached-base streak alive during his final at-bat of the game, extending it to 26 consecutive games on a ninth-inning single.
 
Sophomore reliever Nick Cubarney was charged with five earned runs in 0.2 innings as Connecticut (20-11, 3-3 American) rallied for six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. First-year hurler Tyler Robinson recorded all three outs for NU in the eighth, striking out a pair of UConn hitters.
 
Although Fonseca's single in the top of the second was written down in the scorebook as the first hit of the day for either team, Zapata kept the Huskies at bay by forcing both Gabe Levanti and Keith Kelly to ground out, ending the half-inning. Borges would give up a single to Willy Yahn during the bottom of the frame, but the sophomore dealt heat to Joe Deroche-Duffin, striking him out on a full count.
 
Hand jumpstarted Northeastern's offense during the top of the third with a lead-off double, and eventually came into score on a fielder's choice hit by Scambia to put NU in front, 1-0.
 
Back-to-back singles by Connecticut's Blake Davey and Max McDowell provided the Huskies with two base runners during the bottom of the fourth, and a single by Yahn up the middle allowed UConn to tie the game at 1-1. After forcing Deroche-Duffin to pop up to shortstop, Borges struck out Jon Testani, swinging, retiring the side before another run had crossed the plate.
 
NU would put runners aboard during the fifth and sixth innings, but the Huskies had difficulty stringing hits together to produce runs. Following a one-two-three inning by Zapata in the top of the seventh, Connecticut's Vinny Siena broke a 1-1 tie by hitting a two-run home run to left field, giving UConn a 3-1 edge.
 
Trailing by two runs in the eighth, Northeastern fell behind Connecticut, 5-1, after UConn belted three straight singles off Cubarney before Deroche-Duff hit a two-RBI double to left. With two runners on base, Testani notched Connecticut's fifth consecutive hit to increase the Huskies' lead to 7-1, ending Cubarney's day on the hill. UConn would go on to score two more runs with Robinson on the mound as the Huskies sealed up a 9-1 victory against NU.
 
Northeastern will return to the Boston area on Wednesday, April 8, to battle Boston College in the 2015 Beanpot semifinals. First pitch against the Eagles is currently scheduled for 3 p.m. at Pellagrini Diamond in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.