MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The #3 seed Northeastern Huskies (44-14) rallied in the ninth but fell short, falling to the #1 seed UNCW Seahawks (34-21) by a score of 5-4 at Patriots Point on Sunday evening.
The Huskies, down to their last three outs, got a big three-run home run from
Mike Sirota (3-for-5) to cut the UNCW lead to just one run, but the regular season champs clamped down and got some quick outs to quell the rally. The Huskies threw a staff day out of the bullpen, using five different pitchers, led by
James Quinlivan with a team-high 3.1 innings pitched, a new career high.
- UNCW jumped onto the scoreboard with back to back one-out solo home runs in the first, taking an early 2-0 lead. They extended that lead to three runs on a ground out.
- The combo of Patrick Harrington and James Quinlivan held UNCW off the scoreboard from the second through the fifth, keeping the deficit low enough to be within striking distance for the Huskies.
- The Huskies brought the tying run to the plate twice, one in the fourth, and once in the sixth, but were unable to bring a run across.
- A two-run home run for UNCW added some insurance in the bottom of the sixth, as the Seahawks led 5-0 after six.
- Northeastern loaded the bases in the top of the eighth, and Harrison Feinberg worked a full-count walk to record an RBI and break the shutout, but a strikeout by the UNCW closer was able to quell the rally.
- A shutdown inning for Northeastern featured a caught stealing by Gregory Bozzo and Spenser Smith, a strikeout for Nick Davis, and a fly out to Sirota, keeping the deficit at four for the Huskies' final offensive chance.
- After a leadoff walk to Bozzo and a single by Spenser Smith, Mike Sirota hit a backside three run home run to get the Huskies within one, but the Huskies were unable to get the tying run home with two runners on and two outs.
- The Huskies finish the regular season and conference tournament with a 6-2 record in neutral site games.
- Four Huskies were honored on the all-tournament team: Jake Gigliotti, Danny Crossen, Cam Maldonado, Spenser Smith.
The Huskies will await to hear their postseason fate at the 2023 NCAA Selection show which takes place Monday, May 29
th at noon on ESPN2.
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