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BROOKLINE, Mass. – Two swings of the bat netted Ryan Solomon a total of five RBIs on Friday afternoon at Friedman Diamond as the Northeastern baseball team laid claim to its fifth straight victory by way of a 6-2 win against James Madison.
 
Solomon was undeterred from his previous two strikeouts when he arrived at the plate during the bottom of the sixth inning with the bases loaded. Facing a 0-2 count for the third straight at-bat, the NU cleanup hitter smashed a bases-clearing double to left field, flipping the Huskies' 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead.
 
For his final act during the bottom of the eighth, Solomon belted a two-run homer to the right field bleachers, becoming the second NU player this season to record five or more RBIs in a game (Zach Perry, six on March 11).
 
With the victory, Northeastern (27-23, 15-7 CAA) assured itself at least one of the top three seeds in next week's CAA tournament. The Huskies also remained in the running for both the regular-season title and a first-round bye; NU can clinch the former with a win on Saturday against James Madison (24-26, 7-16 CAA) and one UNCW loss, and the latter with a win on Saturday and one Delaware loss.
 
Brian Christian silenced the Dukes' high-power offense during a career-long, eight-inning performance on Friday. The junior right-hander scattered only three hits, all singles, struck out four, and walked one, surrendering a solitary run to JMU during the top of the sixth.
 
Hits were at a premium during the opening five innings of Friday's game as both teams shared identical no-run, two-hit score lines heading into the sixth. Cam Hanley and Cam Walsh were the only two Huskies able to record hits off James Madison starter Colton Harlow, who struck out 10 and walked one despite receiving the loss.
 
JMU caught the game's first break during the top of the sixth inning, when Fox Semones was misinterpreted as being a hit batsman by the home plate umpire after Christian's pitch had ricocheted off Semones' barrel. Semones proceeded to steal second base and take third on Adam Sisk's base hit, scoring during the next at-bat on Brett Johnson's sacrifice fly.
 
Trailing the Dukes by a run, Charlie McConnell injected life into Northeastern's bats in the most bizarre way possible, reaching second base after swirling winds had helped his sky-high pop up fall between the five James Madison infielders. The fluke double appeared to disrupt Harlow, who hit both Scott Holzwasser and Hanley with pitches to load the bases.
 
With three runners aboard, Solomon brought them all home with his three-RBI double, alertly taking third base on the Dukes' throw to the plate. Max Burt then poked a 0-2 pitch through the right side for an RBI single, putting the Huskies ahead, 4-1.
 
Hanley notched his second hit of the afternoon during the bottom of the eighth, cracking a one-out single up the middle before Solomon cashed in on his fourth homer of the season.
 
Brian Rodriguez collected the first two outs of the ninth inning, but surrendered an RBI single to Matt Dipasupil that brought the score to 6-2. Andrew Misiaszek entered after the Dukes had loaded the bases and brought the tying run to the plate, picking up the final out and his fourth save of the season.
 
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Northeastern will honor the nine members of its 2017 senior class prior to Saturday's regular-season finale against James Madison. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Friedman Diamond, while the Huskies' Senior Day ceremony will begin at 12:40 p.m.