For the second day in a row, Northeastern punched five home runs over the wall at Joe Nathan Field, this time en route to a decisive 13-5 victory over the Seawolves to claim their second CAA series.
And for a team that struggled to find its offensive groove to start the season, the Huskies have had no trouble stomping out Stony Brook.
Just like on Friday, Northeastern started the scoring with a solo home run off the bat of redshirt junior Harrison Feinberg. This time, however, they didn’t wait to keep things going, as Cam Maldonado drove a two-RBI single to left field to give the Huskies an early 3-0 lead.
Stony Brook battled back with a homer of their own, when redshirt junior Nico Azpilcueta blasted one back to close the gap 3-2. But that momentum didn’t last long.
The Seawolves did their best to stay in the game, but Northeastern’s bats were absolutely sizzling. Home runs from Maldonado and Jack Goodman pushed the Huskies’ lead back out, but it was Alex Lane who really sealed the game in Northeastern’s favor with a grand slam in the top of the sixth.
After breaking numerous program records last season, the graduate student had hit a slump in his final year of collegiate eligibility, tapping in with a .221 batting average, down from last season’s .375. However, Saturday afternoon’s contest gave him some of his old shimmer back. Despite going 1-for-5 at the plate, the one was all he needed to drive one back over the left field wall for his second home run of the season.
It was also a big day for Maldonado, who went 3-for-4 with two walks and a career-high five RBI to continue his reign as Huskies’ offensive leader (.360 batting average, 27 RBI).
With Northeastern earning home runs every other inning, Stony Brook’s rotation struggled to keep the away team at bay all afternoon. No Seawolves pitcher lasted more than three innings, including freshman starter George Adams, who picked up six earned runs through his three frames of work.
None of the three arms out of the bullpen — Ty Panariello, Alex Jankowski, and Matt Sgambati — managed to strike out a Husky.
Meanwhile, Huskies starter Jack Bowery made it through 5.2 innings, throwing 79 pitches before being swapped out in favor of Brett Dunham. After ending the sixth inning on a fly out from the bat of Evan Goforth, Dunham started off a one-inning-a-piece closing rotation for Northeastern, which saw him, Jack Cropper, and Carson Walsh shut down the Seawolves in turn.
The Huskies finish off the weekend at Stony Brook with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday. Northeastern will be back in action at Friedman Diamond Tuesday afternoon in the first round of the baseball Beanpot, when they host Boston College in an effort to hold onto their Beanpot title. Max Schwartzberg, Chase Alexander, and Sammy Glassman will have the call on WRBB Sports+ with first pitch at 2:30 p.m.