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NEWARK, Del. – With another electrifying, eight-inning performance out of junior right-hander Aaron Civale, the Northeastern baseball team ran away with the series-opening victory on Friday afternoon as the Huskies trumped the Blue Hens, 6-1, at Bob Hannah Stadium.
 
Pitted against the best offensive team in the CAA, Civale held Delaware (21-12, 4-6 CAA) to its lowest scoring total of the 2016 season, allowing only one run to cross the plate despite scattering eight hits. The East Windsor, Connecticut, native struck out seven while walking just one, tossing a season high, 114 pitches, en route to his sixth victory of the year (6-1).
 
Tyler Robinson added the finishing touches to Civale's gem in the ninth, dialing up three straight outs to lower his ERA to a bullpen best, 1.86. Rookie outfielder Cam Walsh went two-for-three out of the nine spot of the order for Northeastern (17-14, 5-4 CAA), boosting his batting average by 22 points to a team high, .320.
 
The Huskies overturned a 1-0 deficit in the top of the fifth when three Delaware errors allowed NU to load the bases and plate three runs. Nick Fanneron stroked a leadoff single up the middle before Josh Treff took a 3-2 pitch to the body, putting two runners aboard. Although Walsh's sacrifice bunt effectively drew in the third baseman down the line, the throw pulled the first baseman off the bag, allowing the freshman to reach on the error.
 
After McConnell was called out on an infield fly, Burt slapped a double-play ball to short, but the throw from second baseman Nick Tierno erred high at first, allowing both Fanneron and Treff to score. Burt soon bolted for third on a wild pitch during Keith Kelly's at-bat and scored easily on the same play when Delaware catcher Brian Mayer's throw to nail Burt bounced into left field.
 
With a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth, Civale retired eight of the next nine batters he faced with the exception of a sixth-inning double by Nick Patten off the wall in left center.
 
Following a pair of one-out singles by Walsh and McConnell in the seventh, Burt became the Huskies' fourth hit batsman, loading the bases. Kelly's soft liner then landed in shallow right for an RBI single that scored Walsh before Pat Madigan hit a sacrifice fly to deep center, scoring McConnell to up Northeastern's edge to 5-1.
 
NU tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth, having loaded the bases on a single by Walsh and a pair of walks issued to McConnell and Kelly. Although Madigan's fly ball to left was caught in foul territory, all three runners moved up on the sacrifice, allowing Walsh to score the Huskies' sixth run of the game.
 
Northeastern and Delaware will resume their CAA series on Saturday, April 16, at 1 p.m.