Thrilling Northeastern baseball season comes to a close in NCAA Tournament
Huskies win their second consecutive conference title before a competitive run in the NCAA ends historic season.
Northeastern University’s historic baseball season featured the Huskies’ first-ever back-to-back Coastal Athletic Association Championships, and the first consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament since 1972 and 1973.
The Huskies played competitively against all three opponents they faced in the NCAA Tournament, each with a solid tournament pedigree. Northeastern beat Missouri State, marking the Huskies’ second NCAA Tournament win in as many years. Although they proved they can compete against national powerhouses Kansas and Arkansas, the Huskies narrowly fell to Arkansas on Sunday, 10-9, to end their thrilling season.
Northeastern Head Coach Mike Glavine wasn’t surprised by the team’s unbreakable resolve in its final game and final inning; it exemplified the Huskies’ character all season.
“Our guys are so freaking tough and competitive and resilient and gritty,” Glavine said in a post-game press conference on Sunday. “Man, they just gave it everything they had and fought until the end.”
This was the 12th time in the program’s history that Northeastern has made the NCAA Tournament. Despite the season-ending loss, the tournament run sets new marks and signals a bright future for a program that’s in full ascent.
Huskies earn season and post-season honors
Northeastern finished with a 39-22 record, including the CAA and NCAA tournaments. After winning the CAA Tournament, four Huskies were named to the All-Tournament team: Graduate transfer reliever Andrew Wertz, the Most Outstanding Player, who did not allow a hit in 3.1 tournament innings while striking out six; redshirt senior outfielder Harrison Feinberg, who had three RBIs and a game-tying home run; junior outfielder Ryan Gerety, who delivered the championship-winning walk-off hit; and senior pitcher Luc Rising, who struck out 11 in an elimination-game start against UNCW.
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Prior to the postseason, the Coastal Athletic Association named 10 Huskies to the All-CAA teams, led by four First Team selections: Feinberg (hitting .340 with 15 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 42 stolen bases while breaking the program’s all-time career home run record); Gerety (hitting .330 with five home runs, 36 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases); senior designated hitter Matt Brinker (hitting .322, eight home runs, 58 RBI); and Wertz (with a 3.12 ERA, four saves, 33 strikeouts in 34.2 innings).
Freshman infielder Tyler Harmony, redshirt junior and starter Robbie O’Connor, and Rising all earned Second Team honors, and freshman reliever Cooper Maher (3.58 ERA, 2 SV, 25 K) was named honorable mention. Harmony, Maher, and redshirt freshman infielder AJ Aschettino were also selected to the All-Rookie Team.
Northeastern measures up in the NCAA Tournament
Facing elimination in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, Northeastern never gave in. Down 4-1 in the sixth inning, the Huskies scored three times to draw even. When Arkansas scored four runs in the seventh, Northeastern responded by pulling to within two. And down four in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Huskies plated three runs and had the winning run on base when they made the final out.
Matt Brinker, playing his final game as a Husky, went 2-for-5 with a home run and two runs scored.
“I think this game speaks a lot to our program, our coaching staff, our players,” said Brinker, sitting beside Glavine. “We’re not afraid of anybody. … We played them right to that last out. I’m just incredibly proud of our guys. It didn’t go our way, but I’m proud of the way it ended.”
The Huskies opened the NCAA Tournament with a loss to the No. 13 Kansas Jayhawks, 6-3, on Friday in their regional, hosted by Kansas. Northeastern pulled to within 4-3 in the sixth inning but couldn’t tie the game from there.
Friday’s loss put Northeastern into their regional’s elimination bracket against the Missouri State Bears, which lost their opening game to Arkansas, on Saturday. The Huskies won, 5-1, behind a stellar pitching performance by Robbie O’Connor and a key two-run home run by senior Carmelo Musacchia during a three-run sixth inning.
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Northeastern’s win over Missouri State marked the first time under Glavine that the Huskies outhit their opponent in an NCAA regional game. (The Huskies went on to outhit Arkansas Sunday.)
O’Connor pitched brilliantly, allowing only one run in seven innings. The Huskies also turned in an excellent defensive effort across the diamond. Late in the game, in particular, first baseman AJ Aschettino, a redshirt freshman, made a great catch on a throw to first to end the eighth inning and dove to grab a line drive to eliminate an early rally in the ninth.
When Musacchia was asked in a post-game press conference about his homer, he turned the praise to his teammates.
“This team just has a lot of grit,” Musacchia said. “There’s a lot of talent but there’s not just one guy that goes out there every day and does it. You never really know who’s going to be the star of the day. Our lineup is deep. Our bullpen is deep. Our starters give us innings.”
These Huskies were ‘a special group’
Northeastern started the season 0-5 with multiple double-digit losses and played around .500 baseball until mid-April. But that’s when the Huskies took off, going 18-4 down the stretch to close the regular season and win the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament.
Factor in the team’s win on Saturday and playing two powerhouse programs in Kansas and Arkansas down to the wire, Glavine called this season the “most rewarding year I’ve ever had as a head coach.”
“It’s just a special group,” Glavine said. “I can’t believe it’s over. I’m just so proud of how far they’ve come.”
