BROOKLINE — Northeastern’s hot offensive afternoon, combined with a gem from junior starter Aiven Cabral, gave the Huskies a 10-0 win in seven innings to even the series against Towson.
The right-handed Cabral pitched all seven innings of the match, only allowing one hit while recording six strikeouts. He tallied 59 strikes on 79 total pitches.
“That was his best start of the year, [and it came in a] conference start,” said head coach Mike Glavine. “His own team, struggling to score, [he kept] us in the game until, I don’t know what inning we finally scored in, but he kept us in the game and kind of kept the pressure on their guys. So he was awesome today.”
While the defense kept a tight grasp, the Huskies began slow offensively, replicating their hitting drought in the series opener on Friday.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Northeastern was finally able to put runs on the scoreboard.
Junior designated hitter Cam Maldonado hit a single and then found second after a single to center field by sophomore outfielder Ryan Gerety. Redshirt junior Harrison Feinberg then hit a homerun to send all three Huskies home, bringing the score to 3-0.
After Cabral allowed only one base runner in the top of the fifth, the Huskies were back in the batter’s box, continuing their momentum from the fourth. Graduate student left outfielder Alex Lane hit a double, and then advanced to third after graduate student catcher Gregory Bozzo bunted. Second baseman Carmelo Musacchia hit a ground rule double, sending Lane home and widening the score to 4-0.
The Tigers changed their pitcher to senior Mike Leikus. The righty ended the inning for the Huskies, striking out Maldonado.
In the bottom of the sixth, Northeastern kept their fire burning. Leikus hit Gerety, sending him to first. Feinberg collected a single as Gerety shipped over to third. Redshirt freshman first baseman Will Fosberg bunted the ball and made it to first, while Feinberg found second and Gerety reached home.
While Lane was at bat, both Feinberg and Fosberg stole the base ahead of them, bringing them to third and second, respectively. After Lane struck out, Bozzo hit the ball towards the Tigers’ junior third baseman Ethan Brand who bobbled it, giving the Huskies enough time for Bozzo to reach first, Fosberg third and Feinberg home.
“Harrison Feinberg is a kid that works incredibly hard in the weight room [and] in practice,” Glavine said. “He’s improved his defense. He’s improved his throwing. He’s improved his base running. He’s always had the power, and he’s improved his hitting. So I’m really happy for him because he’s earned everything and earned all these starts and earned his playing time and earned the success he’s had early here in the season. He’s a huge, huge factor for us this year.”
Senior third baseman Jack Doyle grounded the ball to the middle of the outfield, bringing him to first, Bozzo to third and Fosberg back to home, upping the score to 7-0. After this play, the Tigers switched pitchers again, bringing in junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Whiteman to relieve Leikus.
On his second pitch, Whiteman hit Musacchia, bringing him to first.. Doyle and Bozzo headed to second and third, loading the bases. Maldonado’s ensuing single brought Doyle and Bozzo home, widening the score to 9-0. Musacchia, who was at second, stole third while junior shortstop Jack Goodman was up at bat. The second baseman was unable to capitalize on this steal as Whiteman struck out Goodman.
Cabral ended the seventh and final inning of the day on a 1-2-3, bringing the Huskies a chance to end the game early due to the “mercy rule.”
In the bottom of the inning, Gerety recorded the first walk of the game. He tried to steal second but was picked off, sending him back to the dugout. Feinberg was then hit by a pitch, advancing another runner to first for Northeastern. While Lane was in the batter’s box, Feinberg stole second. Lane sent the ball to right center, bringing Feinberg home, giving the Huskies the 10-run advantage they needed to close the game early. Lane’s RBI was his 148th as a Husky, setting a new program record.
“That’s the Alex we know where he gets his swing off early, and if you make a mistake, it’s going to be hit and hit hard, and then he dials it back with two strikes,” Glavine said. “So we’re not going to go anywhere without him, and it was great to see.”
Northeastern will be back to finish the series against Towson on Sunday. First pitch is at 1 p.m. with Zeno Minotti and Armani Vij on the call.