BOSTON - The No. 23 Northeastern Huskies open up the 2024 baseball season this Friday, February 16 at 8 p.m. EST, 6 p.m. MST at Hi Corbett Field, kicking off a three-game series with the Arizona Wildcats. All three games will stream online at Pac12.com on Pac12 Plus.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW:

1. PROVE THEM RIGHT
Northeastern enters the season after receiving numerous preseason accolades from the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) and nationally through publications like D1Baseball. The Huskies are ranked in the preseason Top 25 for the first time in program history, have four preseason All-Americans (Mike Sirota, Alex Lane, Cam Maldonado, Aiven Cabral), and were picked by the CAA to win the conference this coming May, with eight first places votes in the coaches' poll. 

Additionally, six Huskies were also mentioned on D1Baseball's preseason positional rankings. Center fielder Mike Sirota was named the #4 outfielder in the country, while right fielder Cam Maldonado clocked in at #24. First baseman Tyler MacGregor was tabbed as the nation's 10th-best for the position, while Alex Lane was ranked at #34. On the mound, 2023 Friday starter Aiven Cabral was named the #24 starter in the NCAA, while Wyatt Scotti made the top-150 list at #118.

2. FAR FROM HOME
Friday's game at Arizona will be the Huskies' first game outside of the Eastern timezone since the 2018 season - the Huskies faced No. 17 Auburn and No. 10 Texas Tech (both CST) March of that year. The Huskies were able to take the final game of their three-game set with the Tigers by a score of 2-1 that season.

Tucson, Arizona will be the western-most game the Huskies have played since the 2016 season when they traveled to Washington State for a four-game series with the Cougars in early March. The Huskies went 1-3 in that series.

3. LONG TIME COMING
Northeastern faces Arizona for the first time since the 1966 College World Series - the Huskies made the CWS after winning the District 1 tournament in Boston over Boston College, UMass, and Colby College. Arizona was victorious in District 7, defeating Wyoming and Idaho. The two teams met in the first round of the lower bracket, with the Wildcats coming out on top 8-1 to keep their season alive, before falling to Southern California 8-4 the next round.

This match up will also feature two at-large bids from the 2023 tournament, as both Arizona and Northeastern finished runner-up in their respective conference tournaments.