Box Score | Season Statistics | Infographic | Postgame Press Conference

RALEIGH, N.C. – Despite Charlie McConnell finishing a triple shy of the cycle during Friday's opening game of the 2018 NCAA tournament's Raleigh Regional, the third-seeded Northeastern baseball team was unable to navigate past second-seeded Auburn (ranked No. 21 by the NCBWA) as the Huskies were defeated, 13-4, at North Carolina State's Doak Field at Dail Park.
 
Northeastern (36-20) received three leadoff hits from McConnell – the 2018 CAA Player of the Year. The junior outfielder opened the game with a base hit against the Tigers' right-hand starter Tanner Burns, later doubling to begin the third inning and homering at the start of the fifth inning. McConnell finished the day going three-for-five, scoring two of the Huskies' four runs.
 
Jake Farrell provided two hits out of the third spot in Northeastern's batting order, mimicking McConnell with his third-inning double to the same portion of left center field that produced the junior first baseman's team leading, 62nd RBI of the season.
 
Tyler Brown started on the mound for the Huskies, but was plagued by Auburn (40-21), which knocked eight hits and scored six earned runs off the NU righty. Brown outperformed Burns in strikeouts, 5-2, yet had trouble closing the door during the first and third innings as the Tigers scored each of their first four runs with two outs.
 
Northeastern fell behind, 3-0, during the first inning courtesy of Edouard Julian's three-run homer to left center, but battled back to score two runs during the top of the third inning with assistance from two Auburn errors. In the wake of McConnell scoring on Farrell's RBI double, the NU first baseman moved from second base to third on Burns' failed pickoff attempt, then scored on Scott Holzwasser's RBI ground ball to the right side which induced an errant throw by Josh Anthony.
 
After Jay Estes had answered with an RBI single for Auburn during the bottom of the third inning, Steven Williams flexed a three-run homer against Kyle Murphy during the fourth inning, putting the Tigers in front, 7-2.
                               
McConnell trimmed the Huskies' deficit to 7-3 with his fifth-inning, solo homer – his second home run of the season. However, Auburn proceeded to score during each of its final three trips to the plate as the Tigers plated six unanswered runs, racing out to the 13-3 lead.
 
Jake Rosen picked up an RBI during his ninth-inning, pinch-hit at-bat, grounding into the 4-3 putout that scored Michael Geaslen from third base.

UP NEXT
 
Northeastern will play its first elimination game at the Raleigh Regional on Saturday, June 2, at 2 p.m. The Huskies will oppose the losing side between the top-seeded host, North Carolina State (No. 16 national seed), and fourth-seeded Army West Point.