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WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Backed by Brian Christian's seven-inning, nine-strikeout performance and Nick Fanneron's two RBI hits, the Northeastern baseball team won the rainy opening game of Friday's doubleheader against William & Mary, 3-1, before a two-and-a-half-hour rain delay resulted in the cancellation of the second game.
 
With the victory, Northeastern (24-23, 13-7 CAA) clinched its fifth straight berth in the CAA tournament, which will be held this season from May 24 to May 27 in Wilmington, North Carolina, at UNCW's Brooks Field. The Huskies' string of five straight conference postseason appearances ranks in a tie with William & Mary (28-23, 12-8 CAA) for the second longest active streak among CAA member schools.
 
Christian commanded the zone throughout the morning, eclipsing the nine-strikeout threshold for the third time this season. The right-hander used 110 pitches to collect 21 outs from the 24 batters he faced, surrendering only three hits to the Tribe, all singles, while walking none.
 
Fanneron went two-for-four to lead Northeastern out of the cleanup spot and was responsible for driving home each of the Huskies' first two runs of the ballgame. Three batters after Charlie McConnell had led off the game with a first-pitch double down the right field line, Fanneron came through with an RBI double to the same location, putting NU on top first, 1-0.
 
Cam Hanley's two-out single during the top of the third inning brought Fanneron to the plate again with a chance to make life difficult for the William & Mary left-hand starter, Bodie Sheehan. After Hanley had moved into scoring position with his first stolen base of the season, the NU cleanup hitter pulled an RBI single down the first base line, extending the Huskies' lead to 2-0.
 
Sheehan bounced back upon giving up Northeastern's second run, retiring nine NU batters in a row to arrive at the sixth inning. There, Max Burt ended the lefty's streak by barreling a 2-0 pitch over the left field wall, rounding the bases for his fourth home run of the season.
 
Christian, who had allowed only two hits through his first five innings on the mound, defended the Huskies' 3-0 lead until his departure, ending his start with a one-two-three seventh inning.
 
Andrew Misiaszek relieved Christian to begin the eighth inning, but quickly faced a two-on, one-out situation after Patrick Ryan had singled and Owen Socher had drawn a six-pitch walk. The sophomore left-hander worked himself out of the jam by sandwiching two swinging strikeouts around Brandon Raquet's RBI single, despite allowing William & Mary to close within two runs at 3-1.
 
Misiaszek's ninth inning was more on point than his eighth as the sophomore thwarted a one-out walk by forcing Robert White to fly out to left and Hunter Smith to ground into a 5-4 fielder's choice at second base.
 
Pat Madigan hit a second-inning double for Northeastern, although was stranded at second base. The middle three hitters of the Huskies' batting order combined to produce four of the team's six hits, three of which resulted in RBIs.
 
UP NEXT

Northeastern will have a rare weekend off but return to action on Monday, May 15, with a 1 p.m. non-conference game at Connecticut. The Huskies will then conclude the 2017 regular season with a three-game home CAA series against James Madison, beginning on Thursday, May 18.