WILMINGTON, N.C. — The Northeastern Huskies started their 2026 postseason with a frustrating 6-0 first-round loss against the Hofstra Pride in Wilmington, home of the UNCW Seahawks, the hosts of this year’s CAA tournament.
Huskies starter Robbie O’Connor had struggled with his command all season long, with an NCAA-leading 26 hit batters to his name entering the contest. He started his night off with two easy outs, though, displaying some good signs to start the game.
Those good signs quickly flipped into bad omens when Hofstra junior third-baseman Gabriel Melara started his 4-for-5 night off with a triple. A single from sophomore outfielder Nick Gallelo in the cleanup spot brought Melara home and gave the Pride a quick 1-0 lead.
O’Connor’s shaky start got even bumpier after a hit-by-pitch (O’Connor’s 27th of the season; he leads the NCAA) loaded the bases. Another two-out hit, this time by sophomore infielder Tyler Castrataro, plated two more for Hofstra.
Northeastern was trailing by three before they would see any pitches thrown by Hofstra starter Nick Reese.
And given a chance to respond, the Huskies came up silent.
Northeastern’s bats fell into an eight-up, eight-down slump, with no baserunners until the third inning.
Amidst this weak offensive showing out of the gate, Hofstra would continue to light up the scoreboard in the top of the second inning, when another two-out extra-base hit and an already cycled lineup would combine for a 4-0 Hofstra lead after just an inning and a half of play.
Following a single by sophomore outfielder Carter Bentley, the nine-hole batter in the lineup, to attempt an offensive spark in the third, Northeastern had a huge chance after a walk and a gift-wrapped hit-by-pitch of their own loaded the bases with two outs and the heart of the lineup due up to bat. But senior center fielder Ryan Gerety’s first of a pair of strikeouts this game would crush the Huskies’ hopes of chipping away here.
Shortly after this close-call, Hofstra would call upon righty reliever Joseph Curreri, who, with virtually only a two-pitch mix of a fastball and a 12-6 curveball, would leave the Huskies swinging pool noodles for the next four innings straight.
Hofstra again extended their lead in the top of the fifth on a passed ball thrown by redshirt sophomore lefty David McSweeney, entering the game in relief with a few inherited baserunners from O’Connor. To his credit, though, the towering 6’5” southpaw kept the pace in his hands with a valuable 4.2 innings pitched in relief and just one earned run that would come in the ninth.
“[McSweeney] was awesome,” said Northeastern head coach Mike Glavine. “He was the lone bright spot tonight. He gave us a chance to get back in the game and [a chance to] win the game. He pitched really, really well. I think that was the best he’s pitched all year.”
On the other side of the ball, when the Huskies had their chances at the plate in the bottom halves of the innings, Curreri’s curveball continued to make fools of the Northeastern bats. A similar 4.1 innings from the Hofstra reliever to match McSweeney’s final line would keep the Huskies at bay. Northeastern’s only other hit to cap off their troubling two-hit performance came in the eighth inning.
Bentley’s jamshot bloop to shallow right field as the first man to reach back in the third and a too-little too-late groundball just barely past the reach of Hofstra junior shortstop to give senior left fielder Harrison Feinberg his single in the eighth were the only two successful balls in play the Huskies mustered up tonight.
“We just didn’t play well,” Glavine said. “I’m really surprised. Offensively, we didn’t do anything. … Obviously, we got shut out. Defensively, we didn’t make any errors, but we still didn’t play well across the board. It’s just a bad night all around.”
The game would come to an end in almost poetic fashion, with a game-ending groundout into a double play to cap off Northeastern’s bleak night.
With the double-elimination format of the CAA tournament, the loss places the Huskies, the conference two-seed, in the loser’s bracket; one more loss, and they will have to pack back up north to Boston with no hardware to show for an up-and-down year. They will need to maintain a perfect record from here on out to take home a national tournament bid.
Now in do-or-die mode, Northeastern will need to play with a bit of urgency against their next opponent.
“It’s just short-term memory now,” Glavine said. “The season is on the line. You’ve got to flush it; as soon as you walk out of here, it’s done. It is what it is… game’s over.”
The Huskies will look to keep their season from ending on Friday, May 22, 2026, when they will face either seed No. 3 Monmouth or seed No. 6 UNCW at 3 p.m.
Michael Kaminsky is a rising junior at Northeastern, approaching his second year with WRBB. He values being a part of the broadcast team greatly and is always thrilled to cover games, especially his favorite sport, baseball. You can read more of his coverage with WRBB here.