WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. -- Down six runs after an eventful second inning, the Northeastern Huskies (27-17, 16-6 CAA) rallied for 13 runs on 12 hits to defeat the Monmouth Hawks (24-18, 15-7 CAA) by a score of 13-10 on Friday afternoon at MU Baseball Field, in the opening game of a pivotal CAA North series.
Starter Robbie O'Connor allowed six runs in the second inning before steadying himself to work through the fourth, and the bullpen took it from there — freshman Cooper Maher entered in the fifth and turned in 2.1 shutout innings to earn his fourth win of the season, with Andrew Wertz nailing down the final 2.2 frames for his third save. The Huskies chipped away with a run in the third, four in the fourth to cut the deficit to one, five in the sixth to blow the game open, and three more in the seventh to put it away.
Cooper Tarantino led the offensive charge with a 2-for-2 day at the plate, including a pair of walks, a home run, and three RBIs, while Carmelo Musacchia went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and stole two bases. Harrison Feinberg delivered the knockout blow in the sixth with a three-run home run to center field, his 14th of the season.
- Monmouth erupted for six runs in the second inning on just three hits and an error. Two RBI singles, an RBI triple, and a fielding error all led to the early deficit.
- The Huskies cut into the deficit in the third when Cooper Tarantino walked and Henry DiGiorgio flied to center. Tyler Harmony reached on a single to center that was misplayed by the outfielder, allowing Tarantino to score on the error, 6-1.
- The Huskies launched their comeback in the fourth with four runs. Ryan Gerety led off with a solo home run to right field to make it 6-2. With one out, back-to-back singles from AJ Aschettino and Carmelo Musacchia put two on, and Charlie Criscola singled to right to score Aschettino for the 6-3 lead. Cooper Tarantino then singled to left center to plate Musacchia, and Henry DiGiorgio followed with a sacrifice fly to center to score Criscola, trimming the deficit to 6-5.
- Monmouth answered back in the bottom of the fourth with a solo shot to right field to push the lead back to two, 7-5, before O'Connor got out of the inning.
- With Maher in to start the fifth and holding Monmouth scoreless, the Huskies began the sixth with AJ Aschettino doubling to center field. Carmelo Musacchia singled to third base to score Aschettino for the 7-6 Husky lead, then Musacchia and Charlie Criscola executed a double steal to put runners on second and third with one out. A Cooper Tarantino walk loaded the bases, and Henry DiGiorgio's sacrifice fly to center plated Musacchia to make it 8-6.
- With two on and two out in the sixth, Harrison Feinberg delivered the biggest blow of the day, crushing a three-run home run to center field - his 14th of the season — to give Northeastern the lead at 10-7.
- Monmouth threatened in the sixth as an RBI single brought home two to trim the gap to 10-9, but Maher stranded the remaining runners to hold the lead.
- Northeastern added three more runs in the seventh. Matt Brinker led off with a triple to center, and after Aschettino walked and Musacchia reached on a fielder's choice to score Brinker, Cooper Tarantino connected on a two-run home run to center field to make it 13-9. Monmouth scored one in the bottom half on another RBI single, the final run Maher would allow in his 2.1 innings of work.
- O'Connor worked four innings, allowing seven runs (six earned) on five hits with two walks and one strikeout. After the second-inning explosion, he retired nine of the last eleven batters he faced to keep the Huskies within striking distance.
- Maher (4-1) picked up the win with 2.1 innings of relief, allowing three runs on four hits but striking out four. Wertz earned his third save of the season with 2.2 innings, allowing no runs or hits, striking out one.
- Musacchia swiped two bases in the game to push his season total to 30, extending his lead as the second-highest stolen base total in the CAA and 16th nationally. The Huskies stole three bases as a team with Criscola adding one of his own, bringing the nation-leading season total to 170.
- The victory was Northeastern's third comeback win from a multi-run deficit this season and their first win after trailing by four or more runs. The Huskies move to 27-17 overall and 16-6 in the CAA, pulling a game ahead of Monmouth in the CAA North standings.
The series continues on Saturday, May 2nd at 1 p.m. at MU Baseball Field. The game will be streamed on FloCollege.
