SBU Sports: Baseball’s late surge stalls as Northeastern claims victory
The Stony Brook baseball team mounted a late comeback, trimming a five-run deficit to just one in the seventh inning, but Northeastern responded with five late runs to secure a 10-4 victory on March 28 at Joe Nathan Field.
Right-hander Eddie Smink got the start for the Seawolves and worked his way out of trouble early, stranding runners on the corners in the first after a strong throw from Luke Szepek cut down a baserunner at second to end the frame.
Matthew Jackson notched Stony Brook’s first hit of the afternoon with a double down the left-field line in the bottom half of the inning, but he was left stranded at second.
Northeastern struck first in the second inning, launching a solo homer to center field. Smink limited the damage, leaving two runners on base to end the frame.
After the Seawolves left a runner aboard in the bottom of the second, Smink bounced back with a perfect 1-2-3 third inning. He continued to deal in the fourth, working around a one-out single with a strikeout and a fielder’s choice to keep the game tight.
However, the Huskies broke through in the fifth, belting three home runs in the inning to take a 5-0 lead. Nicholas Rizzo entered in relief and induced a groundout to himself to end the inning.
Rizzo settled in, tossing a clean sixth inning, and the Seawolves followed with another scoreless frame. In the seventh, Rizzo worked around a baserunner to keep it a five-run game before Stony Brook’s offense came alive.
Nico Azpilcueta ignited the rally with a leadoff double off the right-field fence, followed by a walk from Chanz Doughty. Scott Gell delivered a clutch two-run double to cut the deficit to 5-2. After a Northeastern pitching change, Brett Davino lined an RBI single to make it 5-3, and Matt Miceli’sperfectly placed bunt single brought home Davino to make it a one-run game at 5-4.
The Huskies quickly responded, leading off the eighth with a home run and adding a sacrifice fly to push their lead to 7-4.
Stony Brook threatened again in the bottom of the eighth when Doughty drew a one-out walk and Davino ripped a double down the right-field line, putting runners on second and third. But Northeastern escaped the jam with a foul-out to maintain their three-run lead.
The Huskies tacked on three more runs in the ninth, sealing a 10-4 win.
