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WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Pitcher Nick Berger threw a 7.1-inning gem to lead the Northeastern baseball team against William & Mary, but it was the second of the senior's two earned runs that proved to be the difference in the game as the Huskies fell to the Tribe, 3-1, on Friday night.
 
Berger threw six scoreless innings after surrendering a run in the first, the only inning in which he allowed multiple batters to reach base. With six strikeouts, the senior from Commack, New York, jumped two positions on Northeastern's all-time strikeout list, passing Les Williams (232 career strikeouts) and Kris Dabrowiecki (236) en route to sole possession of fourth place in program history (237).
 
NU reliever Mike Fitzgerald conceded a walk and two singles during the Tribe's eighth-inning rally, a rare blip on the redshirt-sophomore's stellar season. Fitzgerald still boasts the best ERA on the squad at 1.26, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio dipped just slightly to a team-best 6.80.
 
Northeastern (21-26, 11-8 CAA) posted just two hits against William & Mary (20-25, 10-12 CAA), the fewest the Huskies have produced in a game since being two-hit by Maine on May 10, 2011. Gabe Levanti singled down the right-field line in the top of the third, while Josh Treff picked up an infield single during the top half of the fifth.
 
Senior Justin Inghram earned a complete-game victory, striking out 13 NU batters and tossing eight consecutive scoreless innings after falling behind 1-0 to the Huskies on an unearned run in the first. Devin White went three-for-four from the plate and drove in all of the Tribe's three runs courtesy of an RBI double in the first inning and a two-RBI single in the eighth.
 
Michael Foster showcased his speed around the diamond during the very first at-bat of the game as he was able to advance to third base as a result of a wild throw to first by Inghram. Two batters later, Rob Fonseca hit a firm grounder to second that was deep enough to bring Foster in, putting Northeastern ahead, 1-0.
 
William & Mary answered back during the home half of the first as Ryan Hall smoked a one-out double to left center. Berger would strikeout Willie Shaw during the next at-bat to record the second out of the inning, but D. White came through with a double down the right-field line that knotted the score at 1-1.
 
Levanti broke up a streak of six straight batters retired in the third with a soft single hit down the right-field line, but Inghram fanned Burt and Kelly as the Tribe's starter registered his third and fourth strikeouts of the game.
 
Two key defensive plays by catcher Josh Treff helped NU keep runners off the bases to remain locked in a 1-1 pitcher's duel. Treff threw out Hall on a steal attempt in the bottom of the third, an inning before the redshirt-junior tagged Tim Hoehn on a sacrifice bunt and fired down to shortstop Maxwell Burt at second to complete a rare 2-6 double play.
 
With the exception of a single by Treff in the fifth, Inghram continued to gain momentum as the night went on. The William & Mary pitcher struck out four straight Huskies between the third and fourth innings before retiring 15 straight NU batters to end the game.
 
Northeastern's defense continued to make big stops down the stretch, especially in the fifth. Keith Kelly made a diving catch to save a base-hit, a few plays before Berger picked off Zach Newell at first.
 
With the game tied at 1-1 heading into the eighth, the Tribe caught a break after Berger issued a lead-off walk to Newell and Cullen Large bunted him over to second. Following the pitching change, Hall earned a five-pitch walk off Fitzgerald before Shaw and D. White hit back-to-back singles that put William & Mary in front for good, 3-1.
 
The Huskies will meet the Tribe for game two of the weekend series on Saturday, May 9, at 4 p.m. NU needs one victory to clinch a spot in the CAA tournament, while William & Mary can clinch a playoff berth with a win during either of the final two games of the series.