BROOKLINE — Throughout the roller coaster course that has been the 2026 baseball season, Northeastern head coach Mike Glavine has been preaching about the importance of finding consistency.
And it seems like they’ve finally found it. Saturday afternoon, on Senior Day, the Huskies picked up their fifth straight win — as well as the series victory over the visiting Hofstra Pride — for their longest win streak of the season thus far.
“We’re a different team right now,” Glavine said. “There’s been some things that have motivated us. I think there’s been some adjustments made, as well, from the lineup and the defense and on the mound and everything’s clicking right now, so it’s a confident group.”
It was a revenge series for Northeastern, who went 1-2 against Hofstra in a three-game road set back in late March, marking the Huskies’ first conference series loss since May of 2024. That low point seemed to set Northeastern’s gears in motion, as they’ve gone 11-3 since the start of April, finding more power in the bats and more control in the pitching staff.
With the new confidence behind Northeastern’s bats, Hofstra’s pitching struggled.
Pride starter Chris Bedford has had a tough go since his return from injury at the beginning of the 2026 season, and Saturday’s game was no different. Across three innings, Bedford gave up four earned runs, walked three, and drilled two, raising his season ERA to a 7.89.
The Huskies never made things easy for him, loading the bases in the bottom of the first on two walks and a hit by pitch, but the scoring party didn’t start until two innings later.
It was a two-out rally for Northeastern, initiated by the cleanup man Matt Brinker with a single. He was pushed ahead by an AJ Aschettino double, putting two in scoring position for Camelo Musacchia. What should have been a groundout to end the inning was fumbled by Hofstra third baseman Daniel Escalante, allowing both runners to score on the error and handing Northeastern a 2-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Huskies starter Luc Rising was having a day on the hill. The senior transfer out of RIT made the most out of his Senior Day, going 5.2 innings with 103 pitches, nine K’s, and just one earned run.
And in the top of the fourth, he made magic happen. Faced with some of Hofstra’s biggest hitters, at the heart of the order, the big righty got everyone to bite. Nine pitches, nine strikes. An immaculate inning for Luc Rising — the only one that stands for the Huskies in recorded history.
“Everyone went nuts… It was awesome” Glavine said. “What a huge momentum swing for us there. The guys feed off him, and he’s an energy type guy on the mound, and he was outstanding. … That’s the first one I’ve seen in person. That was pretty special.”
Fueled by the immaculate pitching, Northeastern’s offense went all the way around the order in a big bottom of the sixth. The Huskies quickly tacked on a run with three consecutive singles to open the frame, then loaded up the bases on a walk. When Brinker drove in an RBI single to keep the bases juiced, Hofstra opted for a pitching change, slotting in junior lefty Tanner Sanderoff to counteract Northeastern’s lefty-leaning lineup.
However, Sanderoff didn’t have an easy go of things. An RBI hit by pitch and an RBI walk boosted Northeastern to a 6-0 lead, but he was able to limit a fair bit of damage with help from the Hofstra defense, leaving three Huskies on base with a groundout to retire the side.
After a couple issues at the hot corner, Hofstra made a fifth-inning substitution, bringing in George Holt to pinch hit and play second, and sliding Gabriel Melara over to third.
This seemed to help Hofstra’s bats as well, as Holt immediately got on base with a single, making it all the way around the diamond to score on a bases-loaded Michael Brown sac fly. It was a sticky situation for the previously immaculate Rising, who advanced runners into scoring position on a wild pitch, but the senior recovered, battling through an eight-pitch at bat against Hofstra’s CJ Griggs to finally get the sophomore catcher to come up empty on a big hack.
In the top of the sixth, freshman virtuoso Cooper Maher came in to replace Rising. The kid had been pitching to the tune of a 2.05 ERA, with only one run given up in his last seven appearances. However, he was off his game for this one and only lasted two thirds of an inning before being yanked. The big damage was a three-RBI home run off the bat of Danny Corona to put the Pride within one. It was the only extra-base hit Maher has given up this season, and it was enough for Glavine to fish again from the bullpen, this time for Andrew Wertz.
Similarly to Maher, Wertz hadn’t given up a run in his last six appearances, and to Northeastern’s joy, he added to that streak with a spotless closeout. For a guy that can get into some rough waters when he spends more than an inning or two on the mound, Wertz did phenomenal, striking out five with his heaters through 2.2 innings of work and giving Northeastern just enough room to slide by with an 8-6 victory.
“We found a way, it was a great win,” Glavine said. “I was a little frustrated with the team there in the middle innings. I think we lost our focus and thought it was kind of going to be easy, and then we kind of reset.”
It was a big day for the DH Brinker, who went 3-for-4 including a pair of RBI singles, and a strong overall effort from the Huskies’ lineup top to bottom.
Ever since the advent of Tyler Harmony, the Huskies have been rolling. The freshman stepped into an everyday spot in the lineup just a couple weeks ago, and now as the leadoff guy, he’s batting .452 with a 1.185 OPS, including a 3-for-6 stat line in Saturday’s contest.
“He’s batting leadoff as a freshman halfway, three quarters of the way through the season, and has just been a machine,” Glavine said. “Harmony’s really kind of lit a fire under the offense… he’s been a big difference-maker.”
Northeastern will be back for game three of the set Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Daisy Roberts will have the call live from Friedman Diamond.
Amelia Ballingall is the Editor-in-Chief for WRBB Sports. She has been a writer and broadcaster with the organization since 2022, and is a color analyst for UConn women’s hockey on ESPN+. You can read more of her work here.