BROOKLINE — Riding high off of a series sweep against Monmouth and a second straight Beanpot championship, the Huskies came into Friday’s game against the University of Delaware looking to do more damage. While they beat the Blue Hens 5-3 and added onto their now 14-game win streak, the contest revealed potential cracks forming in an otherwise formidable team.
The matchup against Delaware represented the third straight game where the Huskies held onto a lead by a hair. The finale of the series against Monmouth on Sunday saw Northeastern give up a five run lead just to barely win in extras. Likewise, the Baseball Beanpot final against Harvard saw a similar near-crisis, with Harvard clawing back to turn a four run lead at the beginning of the inning into a one run lead before a lucky grab by Jack Doyle ended their hopes.
The trend continued at Parsons Field on Friday, with the Huskies managing to barely cling to a win.
After a slow first and second innings, the Hens struck first in the top of the third with a sacrifice fly and RBI single scoring two runs. The runs were a wakeup call to Northeastern’s bats. Will Fosberg started the bottom of the inning with a screaming triple into right-center field. A walk by Chris Walsh brought up Ryan Gerety, who doubled to bring Fosberg home. Walsh scored on a Cam Maldonado single, and both outfielders would find home on a Harrison Feinberg double. Suddenly, a two run deficit had become a two run lead.
“It’s a great ability to respond,” said head coach Mike Glavine. “It’s one of the things we talk about. If they score, you want to score, and if we score, we want to shut them down…we did a really good job of getting that momentum back. That was huge.”
The four runs were enough for Northeastern starter Will Jones to keep the Huskies on top throughout his time on the mound. Jones battled through five innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits, his most allowed since April 4th against Campbell. While it was an uncharacteristic outing for an otherwise reliable starter, there were signs of strength. Through his five innings, Jones struck out seven Delaware batters in the process.
After a strong showing in the third, Northeastern’s bats went back to sleep until the sixth inning. Like a game of copycat, the Huskies refused to score until the Blue Hens broke out. Three straight singles by Aaron Graeber, LT Cockrill, and Aiden Stewart cut the lead to one, putting the Huskies in hot water for the third straight game.
In response, Carmelo Musacchia drew a walk against Delaware pitcher Dylan Bryan. A Matt Brinker RBI double quickly brought the Huskies some insurance, putting the score at 5-3.
The score would stand as Charlie Walker replaced Jones for a stellar save, his sixth of the season. In four innings of work, Walker allowed only two hits and fanned four batters. He also held the Blue Hens at three runs, refusing to allow any more to score.
“Walker was awesome,” said Glavine. “He was electric and really saved the game and won it for us. He came in in some big trouble and got us out of that.”
The top of the ninth saw Northeastern once again flirt with disaster. A single by Andrew Amato brought the tying run to the plate with no outs, bringing every fan at Parsons to the edge of their seats. However, Walker kept his head, inducing a Brett Lesher ground-ball double-play and a Jackson Tyer pop-up to secure Northeastern’s NCAA-leading 14th win in a row.
Friday’s game against Delaware was not the same domination the Huskies have gotten used to since their win streak began at the beginning of April. Yet, through late-inning pressure and opponent rallies, Northeastern has continued to find answers — a sign that their resilience may be as important a weapon as their early-game firepower. That being said, if the Huskies hope to sustain their success deep into May, they’ll need to tighten the screws and avoid leaving the door open for comebacks.
In the words of Glavine, “we gotta wake up.”
Northeastern will return to action on Saturday for game two of the series. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. with Max Schwartzberg, Zeno Minotti, and Elli Einset on the call on Sports+.