WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. -- An eight-run first inning set the tone and Luc Rising took care of the rest, as the Northeastern Huskies (28-17, 17-6 CAA) cruised past the Monmouth Hawks (24-19, 15-8 CAA) by a score of 10-1 on Saturday afternoon at MU Baseball Field to take the series.
Rising was masterful in his fourth win of the season, throwing six shutout innings while striking out 10 Hawks on just 96 pitches. The Huskies did their damage in a chaotic, nine-batter opening frame that featured six hits, two Monmouth errors, and six stolen bases — sending nine men to the plate before the Hawks had recorded an out. Matthew Sapienza and Andrew Rogovic combined for 3.0 innings of one-run relief to finish off Northeastern's 12th win in their last 14 games.
Tyler Harmony and Harrison Feinberg each went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Henry DiGiorgio drove in two and Carmelo Musacchia added a pair of RBI without recording a hit, capitalizing on Monmouth miscues. The Huskies stole eight bases as a team, pushing their nation-leading total to 178 on the season.
- Northeastern erupted for eight first-inning runs on six hits, two Monmouth errors, and three walks. Tyler Harmony singled to left to open the game and Harrison Feinberg reached on a fielder's choice, with Harmony moving to second. Ryan Gerety singled to right center to score Harmony and send Feinberg to third, then immediately stole second as Feinberg scored on a throwing error by Monmouth's catcher to make it 2-0.
- AJ Aschettino singled to center with Gerety moving to third. Carmelo Musacchia pushed down a sacrifice bunt that was mishandled by the pitcher for a fielding error, scoring Gerety unearned and loading the bases. Musacchia stole second, then Charlie Criscola grounded out to short for an RBI, scoring Aschettino unearned for the 4-0 lead.
- Will Fosberg drew a four-pitch walk and promptly stole second. Henry DiGiorgio followed with a two-run single to right field, scoring Fosberg and Musacchia for the 6-0 lead. DiGiorgio stole second. Tyler Harmony then singled through the left side to score DiGiorgio, and Harmony stole second before Harrison Feinberg capped the inning with an RBI single to center, scoring Harmony to complete the 8-0 first.
- Rising retired the side in order in the second and third, then stranded runners in the fourth and fifth as the Hawks managed just two hits across his six innings. He struck out 10 of the 24 batters he faced, matching his season high, and threw 57 of his 96 pitches for strikes. It was the first time Rising has thrown six shutout innings this season and his second double-digit strikeout outing of the year.
- Northeastern added a ninth run in the fourth inning when Ryan Gerety drew a leadoff walk, Matt Brinker walked to move Gerety to second, and Carmelo Musacchia reached on a fielding error by the third baseman that scored Gerety unearned, making it 9-0. Musacchia was caught stealing to end the threat.
- Monmouth scratched across its only run in the seventh on a solo home run — the Hawks' first hit since the second inning. With the bases loaded and the Huskies' lead still at eight, Andrew Rogovic entered and stranded all three runners, striking out Simmi Whitehill and getting Brendan Buecker to pop up to end the threat.
- Northeastern tacked on a final run in the ninth when Harrison Feinberg singled to third, stole second, and advanced to third on a Gerety groundout. Matt Brinker delivered a sacrifice fly to left to bring Feinberg home for the 10-1 final.
- Rising (4-4) earned his third straight win in as many starts, allowing three hits and no runs across six innings. He issued two walks and hit one batter, but his 10 strikeouts were the story — the first double-digit strikeout performance by a Northeastern pitcher this season, and the first by a Husky since Jordan Gottesman turned in a 12-strikeout effort in the 2025 CAA Tournament. Rogovic worked 2.2 innings to close, allowing just two hits while striking out six. The Huskies' 17 combined strikeouts on the afternoon were the most by Northeastern in a single game this season, and the most since the pitching staff fanned 18 James Madison batters in an 11-inning loss on May 11, 2019.
- The Huskies' eight stolen bases pushed the nation-leading team total to 178 on the season. Northeastern has now stolen four or more bases in 22 of their 45 games, going 17-5 in those contests.
- DiGiorgio's two-RBI single in the first was part of a 1-for-3 afternoon that included a walk. The sophomore shortstop has now reached base safely in seven straight games, going 9-for-20 with two doubles and six RBI over that stretch.
- With the series win secured, Northeastern moves to 17-6 in CAA play and holds a two-game lead over Monmouth in the CAA North standings. The Huskies have now won seven of eight CAA series on the year.
The series concludes Sunday, May 3rd at 1 p.m. at MU Baseball Field. The game will be streamed on FloCollege.
