BRIGHTON — If you watched this Northeastern team this week, you would have thought you were watching two totally different teams, as Boston College did not look back after scoring six runs in the first five innings in Wednesday’s matchup.
A leadoff triple from Eagles’ center fielder Josiah Ragsdale in the first inning seemed to have set the tone on the Huskies pitching staff early, but starter Max Gitlin was able to recover well with five strikeouts through three frames. Gitlin, a graduate transfer from Division III Clark University, had started off strong. The lefty only allowed that one run in the first 4 ⅔ innings, but was hit around by the Eagles’ bottom order, and allowed three runs in the fourth after retiring the first two batters in the inning.
The following inning didn’t go in the Huskies’ favor either, as an RBI single by BC’s shortstop Sam McNulty and a sacrifice bunt from catcher Gunnar Johnson allowed two more to score.
Northeastern’s bats weren’t able to give the pitching staff the run support they needed either, with the Eagles pitching staff only facing 30 hitters as the Huskies struck out nine times. Even though the opportunities were there, the bats were not able to capitalize on situations that would have kept them in the game.
A two-out rally in the top of the second seemed to be on the horizon, with Harrison Feinberg getting on with a single and Alex Lane up to the plate to do damage. However, Feinberg’s aggressiveness trying to steal second and get into scoring position ended the inning abruptly.
In the fifth inning, a leadoff walk on four pitches by Will Fosberg looked like a potential rally-starter, but Feinberg then hit into a close 4-6-3 double play that ultimately required a review from the umpires.
The top of the sixth was the most promising for the Huskies, with Chris Walsh and Ryan Gerety getting on base with singles, bringing Jack Goodman to the plate with no one out. However, another 4-6-3 double play was a back-breaker, as that was really the only good chance they had at potentially closing the deficit while down six.
“I think there’s more to it than the end result,” said Northeastern head coach Mike Glavine. “We don’t swing at enough good pitches, we take a lot of good pitches, and the approach and how we go about it isn’t where it needs to be.”
That sixth inning seemed to have taken whatever life that was left out of this Huskies team, as the Eagles pitching staff faced the minimum — nine straight retired between innings seven to nine.
This game reached uncharted territory for Northeastern, and not in a good way.
Wednesday was the first time Huskies bats have been shutout since the 2022 season when they fell 4-0 in Delaware against the Blue Hens on May 19.
If you’ve been counting how many games it’s been, that’s 140 since the Huskies have not scored any runs in a game.
There were still many positives to take away from Wednesday’s game, though. Angel Cruz, a freshman pitcher out of San Juan, Puerto Rico, made his collegiate debut and shined when the game was all but over in the eighth inning. In his one inning of relief, he struck out the first two batters he faced, which drew roars and cheers from the Northeastern dugout as they came out of the dugout to congratulate him after his outing.
“It was great to see him in there,” Glavine said. “The last couple days we’ve got a lot of guys who haven’t played a lot or pitched a lot, and I think that’s huge for us to get better.”
Chris Walsh, a sophomore infielder who has slowly been getting more playing time, made his ninth appearance and fifth start after only playing thirteen games last season. Even though he was 0 for his last 19 before today, he notched his first base hit in the sixth inning. The Huskies have a lot of faith in him, with the coaching staff describing how hard he works and his ability to go deep during batting practice.
As the Huskies look ahead to facing Towson in their first CAA matchup this weekend, Glavine expects more from his team.
“I hoping to see a much more competitive team and a team that really understands the importance of conference play,” he said, “I’m expecting to see a team that’s a lot hungrier and more consistent and learning from all of these things that we’ve done here in this non-conference schedule.”
The Huskies will be back at home at Friedman Diamond with a 2 p.m. first pitch this Friday. Max Schwartzberg and Chase Alexander will have the call on WRBB Sports+.