BROOKLINE – Despite a late comeback attempt by the NC A&T Aggies, the Northeastern Huskies glided to an 8-6 victory under sunny skies in their penultimate regular season game of the 2025 season. The victory extended their winning streak to 23 games, continuing to stretch the longest run in the country.
“It felt like that was a tournament game today,” said Northeastern head coach Mike Glavine after the game. “Both teams were in it, there was a good crowd, [and] there was energy here in the park today.”
Aiven Cabral, Northeastern’s starter, worked six innings allowing two earned runs, while striking out four batters and recording his tenth victory of the season.
In the bottom of the first inning, Cam Maldonado got the Huskies on the board first with a towering home run to left field, the centerfielder’s team-leading 15th long ball of the season. Just two batters later, NC A&T starter Angel Ortiz was unexpectedly pulled from the contest. Senior righthander Diego Barrett came in in relief, and wound up having a very successful day. He would pitch 4 ⅔ innings, allowing just two hits and one run.
Cabral was brilliant to start the game, as he pitched a perfect three-and-two-thirds innings before NC A&T finally got their first baserunner. That runner – second baseman JT Taylor – would end up scoring one batter later on an RBI hit from the designated hitter Andrew Tinsley.
“I thought he was really sharp early. His ball had life…I thought he looked really good.” Glavine said.
In the bottom half of the fourth, Carmelo Musacchia restored the Huskies’ lead with a solo home run to left field. The lead was short-lived, though, as in the top of the fifth inning, an Aggies rally led to Nick DiCarlo scoring on a Jason Campo RBI single.
The game would remain tied 2-2 until the bottom of the sixth inning, when the Huskies erupted for six runs.
Relief pitcher Carter Daniels walked Harrison Feinberg to start the inning, then was surprisingly pulled in the middle of Jack Goodman’s at bat. Matt Murtagh entered on the mound for the Aggies, and would struggle mightily through the rest of the sixth. A Matt Brinker single brought home Feinberg; then, with two outs, Gregory Bozzo knocked in another two runs with a single through the left side.
Maldonado, who had already homered in the first, broke the game open just two batters later with a bases-loaded double which scored all three runners and increased the Northeastern lead to 8-2.
Jack Beauchesne took over pitching duties in the top of the seventh inning for the Huskies, but didn’t have his best stuff. He allowed three hits and three runs, and ultimately wound up getting pulled after ⅔ innings after giving up a two run home run to right field off the bat of Bruce Wyche. Cooper McGrath relieved Beauchesne successfully in the seventh, although he gave up a run of his own in the eighth on a Kristian Amaro sacrifice fly.
Suddenly clinging to just a two-run lead heading into the ninth inning, the Huskies turned to the dominant Brett Dunham on the mound. Dunham would make no mistakes, striking out two batters and forcing a deep fly-out from Wyche to end the ballgame.
Overall, the Huskies’ offense was relatively sluggish outside of their monster sixth inning, the second day in a row Northeastern has relied on one inning’s large output to beat NC A&T. Cam Maldonado and Gregory Bozzo were the only multi-hit players of the afternoon as they both went 2-4. Maldonado finished the day with 4 RBI.
“I didn’t love it,” Glavine said of the team’s offense on the day overall. “They’re pitching us in a little bit and we’re just not adjusting, which has been a little frustrating.”
Glavine also gave his team a lot of credit for finding different ways to win games and staying consistent with their effort and performances.
“We just want to be ourselves…this team can win on the road, win at home, I just want to see the same group I’ve seen this weekend all of next week.” Glavine said
The Huskies will have one final regular season game against the Aggies at Friedman Diamond on Saturday, May 17th with the first pitch coming at 1 p.m. Jacob Phillips, Amelia Ballingall, and Luke Graham will have the call on WRBB Sports+.