BROOKLINE, MA — Northeastern baseball continued their NCAA-leading win streak Saturday with a doubleheader sweep against the Hofstra Pride. The two wins moved them to 14–0 in conference play and 26–6 overall, and built their win streak to 16 games.
“We try to have fun with it,” Northeastern head coach Mike Glavine said of the streak. “I’m sure there’s a little added pressure, but at the end of the day it’s something to be proud of.”
On the day that the seniors were honored before the action began, redshirt senior Kyle Murphy started game one for the Huskies. He went seven innings, giving up only three runs on four hits in the 5–3 win.
“These guys have given us contributions in so many different ways,” Glavine said of the senior class. “Just great teammates, great people — they’ve given the university a ton, given me a ton, given each other a ton, and they’re not done yet.”
The Pride jumped out to an early lead on a long home run by first baseman Rob Weissheier, but Husky second baseman Scott Holzwasser answered in the bottom of the first with a solo shot of his own to tie the game.
In the fourth inning, Husky third baseman Danny Crossen slapped a double down the left field line to score Jared Dupere. It was one of three hits in the game for Crossen.
The scoring let up until the top of the sixth, when Weissheier smashed his second home run of the game to give the Pride a 3–2 edge heading to the bottom of the frame. The Huskies again answered the bell on a Teddy Beaudet single to right field to score Crossen and center fielder Ben Malgeri, making it 4–3.
It was again Beaudet with a sacrifice bunt in the eighth to score Crossen and finish up the scoring. It was Crossen’s second time crossing the plate.
Pride starting pitcher Jimmy Joyce struck out 10 through seven innings, but it wasn’t enough to tame the Huskies’ offensive firepower.
“First game was tough, the seniors were great today, and Joyce was awesome for them, so we had to battle,” Glavine said.
While game one featured top-end pitching, game two was a slugfest. Holzwasser scored on a Max Viera single in the bottom of the first, but it was the second inning that was memorable. The Husky offense exploded for eight runs in an inning featuring RBI singles by Crossen and catcher JP Olson, plus a Jeff Costello grand slam that hit the foul pole in left.
The Pride got on the board in the fourth inning on a two-run homer from Santino Rosso, but the Huskies kept it coming with a run in the fifth on a flyout from Olson and the sixth on a homer from Dupere, his CAA-best fourteenth of the year.
“He’s a way better player than I ever was,” Glavine said. “He can run, he can defend, he’s got tremendous power, and he’s a game changer for us . . . he’s clutch.”
The Huskies closed it out with a plethora of pitchers in a rocky ninth inning featuring Thomas Balboni, Owen Batchelder, Craig Demers, and Owen Langan. The Pride added two more runs, but ultimately fell 14–8.
Northeastern starting pitcher Sebastian Keane went 5 ⅓, giving up four earned runs in a performance that was more than enough for the Huskies to get the win.
“Game two was kind of a wild game and didn’t have any flow, but overall I thought we played great today,” Glavine said. “I think they expect to win, but I don’t think they’re overconfident and that’s a fine line. I think we’re in the right place mentally right now, and it’s fun to watch.”
The Huskies finish up the four-game series with the Pride Sunday at 1 PM Eastern at Friedman Diamond. Jack Sinclair will have the call for WRBB.