The Northeastern baseball team finished the regular season Sunday with a three-game sweep of Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rival George Mason. The Huskies 27-21 (19-10 CAA) record is good for third place in the conference, and a spot in the CAA tournament.
They will face Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. They faced VCU twice last week, splitting the two-game series. On May 13 the Huskies won 8-4 to clinch the third seed in the tournament. Senior Matt Morizio hit a game-tying home run to lead off the the ninth inning to begin the rally. Sophomore Josh Porter added a bases-loaded, two-run single to give NU the 6-4 lead. They would get two more runs in the inning and beat VCU, 8-4.
“I had pitched the previous inning and given up the run that gave them the lead,” Morizio said. “So going up to the plate I knew I had to get that run back. When I hit the ball I thought it was gone but then it started to tail and I didn’t know if it would stay fair or go foul.”
The Rams rebounded two days later with a 10-4 win over Northeastern. The Huskies were down 3-0 early, but senior Chris Emanuele singled in a run on the third inning and eventually came in to score, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
Tied at four in the sixth inning, VCU tagged freshmen Trevor Smith and Jeff Thomson for six runs on four walks, a hit batsman and a grand slam.
The rain cloud hovering above Boston last week shortened the Huskies’ non-conference game against Maine on May 16. Northeastern scored in the first when Morizio homered over the right-center field wall, but the Black Bears answered back in the bottom of the inning.
The score stayed tied at one until the fourth, when junior Dan Milano drew a walk and scored on a double by sophomore Josh Porter. Senior Arman Sidhu followed with an RBI single to left that brought Porter home.
However, Tamsin again had control problems as he loaded the bases in the next inning and walked in one run before getting the third out and stranding three baserunners. It was the last inning of play due to rain, giving the Huskies the 3-2 win.
Over the weekend the Huskies outscored George Mason 31-18 in three games. On Thursday, they scored a season-high 15 runs with home runs from Emanuele and senior Jeff Maher, and a four-RBI day from Morizio. Junior Adam Ottavino started for NU and struck out nine batters in 4 2/3 innings. He held GMU to two runs on four hits in his outing. The right-hander broke his own single-season strikeout mark in the game, passing his record of 106 set last season.
Morizio’s good day at the plate didn’t translate to the mound as he pitched 2 2/3 innings, giving up eight runs on 10 hits. Smith and Thomson finished the game without allowing another run, giving the Huskies the 15-10 win.
Friday, Tamsin had a three-RBI game in the Huskies’ 4-3 win. He pitched four innings after junior Dave Pellegrine pitched the first five, giving up two runs on five hits with six strikeouts.
In Saturday’s 12-5 win, senior Brian Nutting went 3-5 with four RBI and Emanuele hit a two-run homer as the Northeastern team completed a three-game sweep of George Mason.
The Huskies take on VCU in the first round of the CAA tournament tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.
“I think it is helpful that we played [VCU] so recently,” Morizio said. “They are fresh in our minds and it will help us knowing how they play.”
