May 22 marks the first day of the 2024 CAA Tournament, and as the third seed, Northeastern seeks to make a deep run with hopes to head to the NCAA Division Ⅰ Tournament the following week.
The Huskies are making their 11th consecutive trip to the CAA tournament, and will travel to Wilmington, North Carolina, where they will first face off against Hofstra, the sixth seed. Northeastern finished the regular season with a record of 38-15 (18-9 CAA), and Hofstra ended with a record of 23-31 (13-14 CAA). The Huskies hope to secure the win against Hofstra before moving on to play UNCW, the second seed and host of the CAA Tournament.
The Huskies last played Hofstra back in late March in a three-game set, where they took two out of three games to win the series. Northeastern lost the tight first game 3-2, but won the second game 13-9, and the third 13-5. Since then, the Huskies had a record of 22-9 (16-7 CAA), and Hofstra had a record of 17-16 (12-12 CAA).
During the regular season, Northeastern led the CAA in batting average, hitting .311 overall as a team. Hofstra was close behind, hitting .293 overall for third conference-wide. Despite the strong offense, both Northeastern and Hofstra had faultier pitching this season – the Huskies’ 5.01 team ERA was fourth in the CAA, while Hofstra’s 7.91 team ERA put them in last.
Northeastern also placed in the top five in the CAA this year in multiple other important categories: on base percentage (1st), runs scored (2nd), hits (1st), RBIs (3rd), home runs (3rd), innings pitched (3rd), and wins (2nd). Although Hofstra’s regular season performance was less dominant than Northeastern’s, they placed in the top five in the CAA in hits and strikeouts.
Both the Huskies and Hofstra had players that received CAA-wide recognition for their accomplishments this season. Northeastern’s first-baseman Tyler MacGregor was co-awarded the 2024 CAA Player of the Year title and was also named to the All-CAA Baseball First Team. Additionally, the 2024 CAA Defensive Player of the Year award was given to the Huskies’ second-baseman, Luke Beckstein, and on top of that, he was named to the All-CAA Second Team.
The Huskies’ outfielder/designated hitter Alex Lane was also named to the All-CAA First Team, with catcher Gregory Bozzo andinfielder Jack Goodman both making the All-CAA Second Team.
On the other side of the field, Hofstra starter Carlos Martinez was named to the All-CAA First Team, and three other players were named to the All-CAA Second Team — infielders Steve Harrington and Dylan Palmer, as well as relief pitcher Mike McKenna.
Northeastern will look to rely on pitchers Wyatt Scotti, Jack Bowery, and Michael Gemma throughout the CAA tournament. Scotti ended the season with a 5.18 ERA and a 7-5 record. Meanwhile, Bowery finished with a 4.44 ERA and 4-1 record, while Gemma recorded a 4.76 ERA on the season with a 4-0 record.
Offensively, the Huskies will expect big performances from MacGregor, Lane, Goodman, Beckstein, and star center fielder Mike Sirota. All five players have postseason experience entering the 2024 tournament, and will help navigate the Huskies throughout the competition.
Looking at statistics offensively, MacGregor ended the season with the 12th-best batting average in the NCAA at .405, with Lane ending the season with a .382 average, which was 50th-best in the NCAA.
Additionally, MacGregor led the NCAA in doubles on the season with 29, had the 4th-most hits (92) and the 4th-most RBIs (80). Lane ended the season with the sixth-most RBIs in the NCAA with 78, and Beckstein had the second-most hit-by pitches in the NCAA (35), and the 14th-best on-base percentage at .529.
Based on Northeastern’s 2024 season statistics, they are looking for a strong offensive performance to pull through with a win on Wednesday against Hofstra. The victory would advance them ahead in the winners side of the bracket, where they would face No. 2 Charleston on Thursday.
WRBB will have full coverage of Northeastern’s trip to the 2024 CAA Tournament. First pitch of the Huskies’ opening round game against Hofstra is scheduled for 4 p.m., with Luke Graham and Patrick O’Neal on the call on WRBB Sports+.