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BROOKLINE, Mass. – Flipping a three-run deficit back in its favor, the Northeastern baseball team was unable to hold on for the victory Wednesday afternoon as Connecticut scored six unanswered runs to escape Friedman Diamond with a 9-8 win.
 
Sophomore reliever Will Jahn blanked the visitors during four relief innings of one-hit ball and stood in line for the victory upon his departure at the end of the seventh. However, a three-run homer in the eighth by UConn's Bryan Daniello followed by a two-out, ninth-inning rally ultimately left Jahn without a decision.
 
Northeastern (26-22) was kept off the scoreboard by redshirt freshman Jack Riley, who had a perfect game working through four innings. Cam Walsh broke through as the Huskies' first base runner in the fifth courtesy of a leadoff walk, the first of five free passes that were issued by Riley and his successor, Randy Polonia, to the first six NU batters of the inning. Ryan Solomon, Michael Geaslen, and David Hopkins each registered RBIs despite not swinging the bat on 12 consecutive balls.
 
With the game tied at 3-3, Nolan Lang propelled Northeastern in front for the first time on a fly ball that was deep enough to score Solomon from third. Mason Koppens completed what amounted to be a five-run inning for the home team with an RBI single to center, driving Geaslen around third and into score.
 
Koppens followed his fifth-inning magic with a two-out single in the seventh that sparked a three-run rally for NU. Upon Koppens stealing second, Pat Madigan pounded an RBI double to left center, awarding NU a 6-3 advantage. After Walsh and Max Burt both reached on a pair of walks, McConnell dropped a two-RBI single into shallow left, his third hit of the day, giving the Huskies an 8-3 lead with two innings to play.
 
Beginning the eighth inning with a strikeout, Tyler Brown surrendered back-to-back walks before Daniello brought everyone home on a three-run shot, helping Connecticut (26-22) reduce the NU lead to 8-6. Although UConn managed to load the bases on Mike Piscopo's watch, Mike Fitzgerald stranded the tying run at second base, forcing leadoff hitter Jack Sundberg to ground out to Hopkins at second.
 
Retiring the first two batters he faced in the ninth, Fitzgerald was one strike away from his record-breaking 10th save of the season when Joe DeRoche-Duffin took an 0-2 pitch over the wall in center to bring Connecticut within a run at 8-7. Unable to keep Daniello and John Toppa off the bases, Zac Susi hit a two-RBI double off the wall in left field, sending the visitors in front, 9-8.
 
UConn closer Patrick Ruotolo struck out the NU side in the ninth, wrapping up a four-strikeout performance.
 
Northeastern will begin a three-game series with CAA postseason implications at College of Charleston on Friday, May 13. First pitch of the series opener that day is set for 6 p.m.