BROOKLINE — After blanking opponents in six of the first 26 games of the season, Northeastern entered Tuesday’s contest tied for the nationwide lead in shutouts.
When the curtains closed on the Beanpot semifinal showdown against Boston College, a 3-0 scoreline vaulted the Huskies atop the stat chart, and punched their ticket to the championship game at Fenway Park.
Northeastern’s victory was powered by the dominant performance of graduate student Max Gitlin, who sought revenge against the Eagles after surrendering four earned runs in the teams’ first matchup of the season.
Gitlin entered Tuesday’s contest on the heels of receiving CAA Pitcher of the Week honors. His last outing culminated in a complete game shutout, where a ninth inning hit broke up a perfect game bid in which he struck out just one batter.
The BC bats struggled to break through Gitlin, whose offerings returned soft contact and earned him a second consecutive quality start. When his afternoon came to a close, the southpaw departed the mound to the tune of seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits while walking none alongside two strikeouts and four putouts to first.
“Gitlin’s a savage,” praised head coach Mike Glavine. “He just goes out and competes and gives you everything he has.”
Glavine was also quick to commend Northeastern pitching coach Kevin Cobb, calling him “one of the top 15 pitching coaches in the country,” before crediting his pitching staff for their ability to execute effectively.
Gitlin’s command on the mound was supported by early traffic on the basepaths, with the heart of Northeastern’s order working lengthy counts against junior left-hander A.J. Colarusso and loading the bases.
After a full-count leadoff walk revealed most of Colarusso’s arsenal to junior second baseman Carmelo Musacchia, the Eagles’ starter appeared eager to hold the CAA’s fourth-best base stealer at bay. Colarusso delivered a handful of half-hearted pickoff efforts Musacchia’s way, an action which became a trend among both sides’ pitching staffs in a game that lasted roughly three hours.
With a trip to the Beanpot championship game on the line Tuesday, Eagles junior centerfielder Josiah Ragsdale spilled the beans when junior Cam Maldonado — the reigning CAA Player of the Week — floated a fly ball in his direction. Ragsdale dropped the ball, allowing Maldonado to reach safely.
The Huskies then feasted, with junior shortstop Jack Goodman reaching on a fielder’s choice and junior left fielder Harrison Feinberg slapping a single into left center field to score the first two runs of the game.
Feinberg and Maldonado each put in productive outings at the plate, piecing together three hits apiece. The latter added an insurance run for the Huskies in the bottom of the fourth frame, hooking a double down the left field line off of senior reliever Eric Schroeder. The power hitter managed to turn on an 0-2 offering with two outs, scoring graduate student catcher Gregory Bozzo from first.
While three runs sufficed Tuesday, Northeastern stranded 11 baserunners on the day, leaving runners on the basepaths in every inning save the eighth frame.
Even still, Glavine expressed satisfaction with his team’s ability to manufacture scoring opportunities.
“We had a lot of guys on today. A couple more hits and it could have been different, but we had a grind early, we took what they gave us, and we’re a team that can bunt and run when we need to,” he said. “We can score in a lot of different ways, and we did early in this game. I think that settled us down.”
On top of Gitlin’s lengthy start, Northeastern came away from Tuesday’s matchup against BC with a key strength: efficiency.
Graduate student right-hander Cooper McGrath was the only reliever needed for the Huskies, with the transfer from DIII Trinity College delivering three punchouts through two scoreless innings. McGrath, like Gitlin, allowed zero walks, boosting the metrics of a team that entered the contest with the nation’s eighth-best K/BB ratio.
“We haven’t gotten Cooper in there in a little while,” Glavine said. “He’s a guy that’s absolutely slammed the door for us.”
Efficient as the pitching was, it was anchored by flawless defense.
“The defense was outstanding today. No free bases — you’re going to win a lot of games if you can do that,” Glavine said. He was particularly pleased with the work of senior third baseman Jack Doyle, while also praising the confidence his outfielders demonstrated during some tricky plays.
Northeastern’s spectacles in the field were capped off in celebratory fashion when Maldonado, pouncing at a line drive that junior right fielder Jack Toomey sprayed into center field, snared the final out of the ballgame and clattered along the turf to complete the circus catch.
With the ball snug in his glove, Maldonado sealed the Huskies’ place in the Beanpot championship at Fenway Park, where they will take on the Harvard Crimson with a chance to claim their second Beanpot in as many seasons.
Following the mid-week tilt with BC, Northeastern returns to CAA play with a series at Campbell this weekend. WRBB will have live coverage of the Saturday and Sunday games in Buies Creek, North Carolina from Amelia Ballingall and Dylan Black on WRBBSports+. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 3 p.m.