GREENSBORO, N.C. – On opening day of the 2023 college baseball season, Northeastern University (1-0) took down UNC Greensboro (0-1) by a score of 11-0 at UNCG Baseball Stadium on Friday afternoon.
The Huskies totaled 12 hits from eight different batters, and four pitchers combined to throw a shut out in the opening game of the season. The Huskies were led offensively by sophomore
Mike Sirota who went 2-for-5 in the leadoff spot with two hits (a triple and a double), and a team-high four RBI.
- The Huskies earned three straight walks in the opening frame to load the bases, but the Spartans were able to quell the early trouble from Northeastern.
- Northeastern's first hit of the season came from rookie Carmelo Musacchia in his first career at-bat, digging out an infield single in the second inning.
- Tyler MacGregor also notched a hit in his Husky debut, belting a two-out double in the fifth to try and get the Huskies' offense going, but UNCG got the final out.
- The Huskies were able to blow the game open in the sixth inning starting with leadoff hitter, Danny Crossen, getting hit in the foot by a pitch, followed by a line drive single to right from the designated hitter Jimmy Sullivan, sending Crossen to third.
- On a full count to Musacchia, the fourth ball flew high and to the back stop, and Crossen hustled down the line to score the opening run.
- A bunt single from Justin Bosland loaded the bases with no outs, which allowed Sullivan to score from third on a double play.
- After a walk to Luke Beckstein, leadoff man Mike Sirota stepped to the plate and belted a high fly ball to the center field wall for his first hit of the season, a two-RBI triple, scoring Musacchia and Beckstein.
- The Huskies followed up their huge sixth inning with a big seventh scoring six more runs on bases-loaded situations. The bases were initially loaded by a walk to Alex Lane, a single from Sullivan, and a walk to Musacchia.
- With the bags full, Bosland took a pitch to the arm and tallied an RBI as all runners advanced. Gregory Bozzo followed that up with an RBI single through the left side, advancing all runners and giving the Huskies a 7-0 lead.
- Big RBI hits from Beckstein with a single, and Sirota with a bases-clearing double, extended NU's run total to 11.
- Wyatt Scotti started the game on the bump and pitched 5.0 innings, giving up no runs on four hits, three walks, and struck out five to earn his first win of the season.
- Scotti was replaced by grad. transfer Griffin Young after Northeastern's first big inning – Young tallied a 1-2-3 inning to begin his D1 career, and notched a strikeout in his second inning of work. He ended the night with just 2.0 IP, no hits runs or walks, and his lone strikeout.
- Jack Beauchesne took over in the eighth and posted a 1-2-3 inning, capped off by an inning-ending strikeout.
- Rookie righty Charlie Walker shut the door in the ninth with two straight K's to open his collegiate debut, and after a walk to his third batter, he induced a game-ending ground out to short.
- The Huskies debuted 10 new players, five transfers and five true freshmen. The newcomers accounted for five of the teams 12 hits, three of the innings pitched, and three of the team's nine strikeouts.
- It's the Huskies' first opening day victory since the 2016 season, snapping a six-year streak of dropping the first game of the season. The Huskies upset No. 21 Oklahoma in that game by a score of 3-2, with current Cleveland Guardian Aaron Civale on the mound for Northeastern.
The Huskies play game two with the Spartans on Saturday, February 18th with a first pitch time of 2 p.m.
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