PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Northeastern came out of the gates strong in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against Indiana State, handily defeating the Sycamores in a 7-0 beatdown headlined by the efforts of catcher Gregory Bozzo’s three RBI day.
Following a lackluster season opener for junior pitcher Aiven Cabral, in which he surrendered three earned runs in just three innings of work at Charlotte, he redeemed himself with five innings of scoreless ball. Thanks to Cabral’s start, the Huskies had to use just two arms out of the bullpen – junior Charlie Walker, who continued the pitching fireworks by putting together five straight strikeouts, and junior Joseph Hauser, who closed the game on a solid 1-2-3 inning.
Walker’s strong outing in relief was crucial to limiting the red-hot Indiana State offense. The 6-foot-2 reliever threw a perfect three innings, surrendering zero baserunners and punching out six on just 30 pitches. Hauser finished the game with a perfect bottom of the ninth of his own against the Sycamores top three in the order.
Sitting at a +43 run differential entering the game, the Sycamore offense, headlined by redshirt junior designated hitter Weston Fulk, was thwarted entirely by the Huskies’ pitching, combining to reach base just five times on four singles and a walk.
On the other side, the Huskies got the bats going in the first. With Carmelo Musacchia on second, grad student first baseman Alex Lane hit a single up the middle, sending the junior home and giving the Huskies a first-inning lead.
Karst’s second inning of work was even more laborious, giving up four runs on three hits, headlined by a two-run rocket off the bat of Musacchia over the left field wall to give the Huskies a 5-0 lead. The other two runs came courtesy of a base knock from Bozzo, driving in sophomore outfielder Ryan Gerety and senior third baseman Jack Doyle.
Sycamores Head Coach Tracy Archuleta made the call to the bullpen in just the third inning, calling upon senior pitcher Carson Seeman to handle the middle relief. Seeman finished up his three innings on 40 pitches, allowing two runs on six hits highlighted by RBI singles from both Gerety and Bozzo.
After Seeman, the Sycamores were able to keep the Huskies under control, allowing just one more hit in the final three innings to end the game.
Following another shutout win, this time by a score of 5-0 in the second game of the double header, Northeastern will look for the sweep against Indiana State in Port Charlotte during the series finale Sunday at Centennial Park. First pitch for Game Three is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.