BOSTON - The Northeastern University baseball team (1-2) travels to Fort Myers this weekend for its annual Spring Training exhibition with the Boston Red Sox this Friday, February 23 at 1:05 p.m. at JetBlue Park. The Huskies follow up that contest with a two-game series with the Minnesota Gophers (2-2) at JetBlue on Saturday, February 24 and at Lee Health Sports Complex on Sunday, February 25. Both games with Minnesota will have free admission for all fans.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
1. LOVE THAT DIRTY WATER
- An annual tradition between Northeastern University and the Boston Red Sox organization, Friday's exhibition contest will serve as the 19th meeting between the Huskies and the Red Sox at spring training. Last season's contest with the Sox was the first meeting since 2020 - the 2021 and 2022 campaigns missed out on the spring training game due to COVID and the 2022 lockout. Last year's 3-5 loss marked the closest scoreline in the series since 2017, the only nine-inning game played in the spring training series, with a 9-6 Red Sox victory. It was also the Huskies' first runs scored against the sox since 2018 (15-2 loss).
2. CAME OUT SWINGING
- Northeastern lead off man Luke Beckstein kicked off the game with a base hit in all three games against Arizona - his first at-bat of the season was a 1-2 count double deep to center field in the Friday night game, followed by a single to begin the game Saturday and another double on Sunday. Beckstein scored opening-inning runs in the first two games of the year and is currently tied for the early team lead with three runs scored. In 2023, the Huskies outscored opponents 51-28 in the first inning of games.
3. SCOUTING THE GOPHERS
- Minnesota and Northeastern fill face off for the first time since 2022, also in Fort Myers. The Huskies and Golden Gophers have met just twice on the baseball field, with Minnesota earning the victory in each contest. Most recently, in 2022, the Gophers earned a tight 3-1 win over the Huskies at Hammond Stadium. The Gophers are off to a .500 start after their first weekend of play, with wins over CSU Bakersfield (12 inn.) and New Mexico, and two losses to #7 Oregon State, dropping their first game with the Beavers by just two runs despite late rallies by the Gophers.
Northeastern has two more road weekends after these three contests, facing Mercer in a three-game series from March 1st to 3rd, and Old Dominion the following weekend, March 8th to 10th. The Huskies play their first midweek contest in that stretch, visiting Georgia Tech on March 5th.
