TOWSON, Md. -- Robbie O'Connor delivered the best start of his Northeastern career, tossing a complete game three-hit shutout as the Northeastern Huskies (33-18, 21-7 CAA) blanked the Towson Tigers (21-31, 8-20 CAA) by a score of 7-0 on Thursday afternoon at Schuerholz Park in the series opener.
O'Connor needed just 101 pitches to navigate all nine innings, allowing only three hits and one walk while striking out two. The Huskies jumped on Towson early with a three-run first inning, then added insurance runs in the fourth, sixth, and ninth to cruise to the victory -- clinching the top seed in the CAA North Division heading into next week's conference tournament.
- Northeastern wasted no time getting on the board in the first inning. Tyler Harmony reached on a fielding error by the shortstop and advanced to third on a Ryan Gerety single through the left side. Matt Brinker brought home Harmony with an RBI groundout, moving Gerety to second.
- AJ Aschettino followed with a single to left field, advancing to second on the throw as Gerety scored for the 2-0 lead. Carmelo Musacchia then singled through the left side to plate Aschettino and make it 3-0 after the first.
- The Huskies tacked on another run in the fourth. Musacchia drew a walk, and Charlie Criscola singled through the right side to put runners on first and second. Both runners moved up a base on a double steal, and Cooper Tarantino delivered an RBI single through the left side to score Musacchia for the 4-0 lead. Musacchia's stolen base in the fourth set a new program record, with 90 career stolen bases.
- Criscola broke the game open in the sixth with his first career home run, a two-run blast to right field that scored Musacchia, who had singled to right center to lead off the inning, extending the lead to 6-0.
- Northeastern added a final run in the ninth when Harmony singled up the middle, stole second, moved to third on a fly out, and scored on a wild pitch for the 7-0 final.
- O'Connor (9-1) was dominant from start to finish, retiring the Tigers in order in five of his nine innings. He allowed just one hit-by-pitch and one walk, and only one Towson runner reached as far as third base all afternoon. It was his third career complete game and first at Northeastern.
- The Huskies were active on the basepaths, swiping three stolen bases in the contest. Musacchia and Criscola teamed up for a double steal in the fourth to give Musacchia is program record, and Harmony added another steal in the ninth.
- Criscola led the Huskies offensively, going 2-for-4 with two RBI on the strength of his first career homer. Musacchia added a 2-for-3 day with an RBI, a walk, and two stolen bases. Aschettino went 1-for-5 with an RBI and 15 putouts at first base.
- The Huskies turned two double plays in the contest, including a first-inning fly ball double play from right fielder Musacchia to Criscola at second base that snuffed a Towson threat.
- The shutout is Northeastern's seventh of the season, extending the team's CAA-leading total. The Huskies have now won six of their last seven games.
- With the win, Northeastern clinches the top seed in the CAA North Division and a first-round bye in the CAA Tournament. The Huskies improve to 10-2 on the season when O'Connor takes the mound.
The series continues on Friday, May 15th at 3 p.m. at Schuerholz Park, with game two streaming on FloCollege.
