Box Score | Season Stats | Post-game Interview | Infographic

BROOKLINE, Mass. – Seven innings, six strikeouts, and one run on three hits were more than what the Northeastern baseball team had asked for out of Dustin Hunt on Sunday afternoon as the Huskies closed out their first home series of the 2016 season with an 8-4 victory against Buffalo.
 
NU scored three runs in the first inning, providing Hunt with plenty of room to pitch comfortably as the game went on. With the exception of a two-strike home run to the Bulls' Chris Kwitzer in the top of the second, Hunt prevented Buffalo from occupying third base during his entire outing while allowing only one runner to reach second safely.
 
Cam Hanley, Max Burt, and Keith Kelly each tripled for Northeastern (9-9) and combined for seven of the Huskies' 10 hits against the Bulls. Kelly went three-for-four with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored, boosting his team-leading batting average by 29 percentage points from .279 to .308. Hanley and Burt both went two-for-four and scored once, registering two and one RBI(s), respectively.
 
Charlie McConnell ran the bases exceptionally well for the Huskies, stealing three bags and scoring three runs. Upon reaching on a walk in the fifth, McConnell stole second and third base on back-to-back pitches, scoring easily on Hanley's RBI single that left NU in front, 5-1. Together with Burt's two thefts, Northeastern stole five bases in a single game for the first time March 30, 2013 against James Madison.
 
Buffalo (6-9) rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth off Isaac Lippert, but the Huskies' lead was too insurmountable by then to overcome. Kwitzer led the Bulls with two hits, including his solo shot to left during the second inning, and scored twice.
 
After Pat Madigan put Northeastern ahead 1-0 on a sacrifice fly that scored Kelly, Hanley powered a triple trough the gap in left center, scoring McConnell from first and making the Huskies' lead, 2-0. Two batters later, Hanley darted home on a wild pitch, capping off a three-run first inning for Northeastern.
 
Although Kwitzer's second-inning homer to left field reduced Northeastern's lead from 3-0 to 3-1, NU reclaimed a three-run lead in the fourth on a dropped ball by the Bulls' first baseman, Andrew Taft, giving Treff a green light to score from third.
 
Northeastern's defense turned two double plays on Saturday, helping take the pressure off Hunt during his middle innings. Hanley caught a liner and stepped on first base for the unassisted double play to end the fourth, while during the next inning, Kelly also snagged a line drive and fired to Hanley for the 4-3 inning-ender.
 
With the help of McConnell's two fifth-inning steals, the freshman had no problem scoring on Hanley's RBI single that propelled NU to a 5-1 advantage. McConnell came around to score again in the seventh after Madigan's shallow fly to right center landed for two bases, awarding Northeastern a 6-1 lead.
 
Back-to-back RBI triples by Burt and Kelly to right field plated two more runs for the Huskies in the eighth, creating enough breathing room to solidify the win.
 
Northeastern will next host Boston College at Friedman Diamond on Tuesday, March 22, at 3 p.m.