BRIGHTON, Mass. – For the first time since 2013, the Northeastern Huskies (25-7) are the Baseball Beanpot champions, defeating Boston College (17-14) by a score of 7-0 at Harrington Athletics Village on Tuesday evening.
The Huskies' pitching staff held BC to just one hit in the contest while striking out 13 batters, as the offense came to life in the fourth inning led once again by
Tyler MacGregor with another three-hit day, just a home run shy of the cycle.
- The game started off as a pitcher's duel with neither side recording a hit through the opening three innings. The momentum began to shift in Northeastern's favor when the third inning ended with a leaping catch by Cam Maldonado in right field, pulling a home run ball back into play from underneath the scoreboard.
- The Huskies broke the stalemate in the top of the fourth inning. A walk to Luke Beckstein and a single by Tyler MacGregor, NU's first hit of the game, got things started for the offense.
- The next hitter, Alex Lane, hit an RBI single up the middle to score Beckstein from second. Lane then took second on a double steal attempt, then stole third base and ran home as the throw to third went high into the outfield. Northeastern led 2-0 after four innings.
- The Huskies tacked on three more in the fifth inning – after a lead off double from Jack Goodman and a walk to Cam Maldonado, they were moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Gregory Bozzo and scored by a wild pitch and an RBI double by Carmelo Musacchia.
- Musacchia would go on to steal third, and then took home on a wild pitch for the 5-0 lead.
- NU plated two more runs in the seventh on an RBI triple from MacGregor, scoring Beckstein from first, and an RBI sacrifice fly by Mike Sirota, scoring MacGregor from third.
- Starting pitcher Michael Gemma worked the opening four innings, allowing just one hit and two walks, while striking out four batters.
- Charlie Walker worked the fifth and sixth innings, retiring all six batters in order, three by way of strikeout. He earned his fourth relief win of the season.
- In the seventh and eighth it was Dennis Colleran throwing two near-perfect innings allowing just one walk and striking out four.
- Out to close the game in the ninth was James Quinlivan with another 1-2-3 inning, notching two strikeouts.
- The win marks Northeastern's seventh Baseball Beanpot title, and first in 11 years.
- It was the second championship in which the Huskies shut out their opponent, the first time was the 2007 championship, when the Huskies defeated Boston College 2-0.
- NU now has a 7-8 record in Baseball Beanpot championship games.
- Mike Glavine becomes the first Husky to win the Baseball Beanpot as a player and as head coach – his Huskies won back to back Baseball Beanpots in 1994 and 1995 in his junior and senior seasons.
The Huskies head to Newark, Delaware this weekend for a three-game CAA series with the Blue Hens beginning Friday, April 12. All three games of the series will stream on FloBaseball.
