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PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Jimmy Hand's three-run homer during the top of the second inning provided rookie left-hander Sean Mellen with all the run support he needed on Wednesday morning as the Northeastern baseball team downed Toledo, 9-2, during the Huskies' fourth game at the 2017 Snowbird Classic.
 
Making his first collegiate start, Mellen carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the seventh inning, where he would pick up the 19th and 20th outs of his line before surrendering a single and a two-RBI double to the Rockets. Despite relinquishing the shutout, the six-foot-five freshman left the game with a comfortable, seven-run advantage, having stuck out four and walked three.
 
Northeastern (5-6) churned out 13 hits on Wednesday against Toledo (1-12), seven of which fell for extra bases. Five different NU batters combined to produce the team's six doubles, with Cam Hanley connecting on his first and second two-baggers of the season during the third and fifth innings.
 
Max Burt kick started Northeastern's four-run second inning, reaching on an infield single hit towards third base. Charlie McConnell's patience paid off as the sophomore outfield was dealt a walk during the next at-bat, while an ensuing infield error by the Toledo third baseman allowed Burt to score the game's first run. With runners on the corners, Hand pulled a three-run blast to right field, padding the Huskies' early lead with his second home run of the season.
 
Keeping the Rockets at bay through the middle innings, Mellen did not allow a base runner during the fourth, fifth, and sixth frames, retiring a streak of 11 straight batters.
 
Mason Koppens and Cam Walsh drew a pair of one-out walks to put the Huskies in business during the top of the seventh. After Toledo had made its second pitching change of the ball game, Scott Holzwasser took advantage, lacing an RBI double down the left-field line to put Northeastern ahead by five. During the next at-bat, Hanley cleared the two NU runners in scoring position with a base hit to right field, sending the Rockets to the bullpen for a third time in a 7-0 game.
 
Continuing to move the bats, Burt followed the pitching change by directing an RBI double down the left-field line, while McConnell capped off Northeastern's five-run inning with an RBI base hit up the middle.
 
Tom Githens relieved Mellen with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, closing the inning with his first of three strikeouts. Githens finished the game allowing only two hits, stranding a pair of Toledo runners on base during the bottom of the eighth.
 
UP NEXT
 
Northeastern will take on Western Michigan on Friday, March 10, at 10:30 a.m. during the Huskies' fifth game of seven at the 2017 Snowbird Classic.