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unfinished business

As the Huskies prepare for the 2018 CAA Baseball Championship, let's take a look back at Northeastern's record-breaking regular season.

By Northeastern Athletics

May 23^rd, 2018

December 8: Huskies add 10 to roster

After graduating nine players from his 2017 CAA regular-season championship team, Northeastern baseball head coach Mike Glavine restocked the Huskies with 10 talented additions, supplying his 2018 roster with eight true freshmen and two transfers – six pitchers and four position players – as he and NU prepared to set out this spring in defense of their league title.

Kyle Angel | RHP | East Brunswick, N.J. | Saint Joseph

Owen Batchelder | LHP | Amherst, N.H. | Souhegan

Ben Bavly | INF | Newton, Mass. | Newton South (Brandeis)

Jeff Costello | OF | Lexington, Mass. | Buckingham Browne & Nichols

Corey DiLoreto | OF | Reading, Mass. | Reading Memorial

Brandon Dufault | RHP | Windham, N.H. | Windham

Henry Ennen | RHP | Dorchester, Mass. | Boston College High School / Phillips Academy

Sam Jacobsak | RHP | Milton, Mass. | Milton

Danny Ryan | RHP | Rockport, Mass. | Rockport

Prior to appearing in nine games at Virginia Tech, Jake Rosen captained Saint John's High School during his senior season (2016), posting a .325 batting average, .500 on-base percentage, 1.030 on-base plus slugging, and .988 fielding percentage, co-leading his team to four consecutive Central Massachusetts Conference championships.

DECEMBER 15: THESE ARE YOUR CAPTAINS SPEAKING

Head coach Mike Glavine announced that senior shortstop Max Burt, senior right-hand arm Brian Christian, redshirt-junior pitcher Tyler Brown, and junior outfielder Charlie McConnell would lead the program during the 2018 season.

"I am very excited to have these four young men leading our program this year," said Glavine. "They represent the values that are important to our program on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. This is a tremendous honor for them to have the utmost respect from their teammates and the coaching staff."

February 1: let's get this party started

Four Huskies earned preseason All-CAA honors as the reigning regular-season champions were picked to finish fourth during the 2018 season.

After swinging a team high, seven home runs, during his freshman season, Northeastern second baseman Scott Holzwasser was named to the 2018 Preseason All-CAA Team. Holzwasser belted 16 extra-base hits during his rookie season and ranked third on the Huskies in both stolen bases (11) and RBIs (30) – statistics that garnered the five-foot-10 middle infielder selections to the 2017 CAA All-Rookie Team and the 2017 Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-American Team. The Sudbury, Massachusetts, native started 46 games for Northeastern at second base and was a rock within the Huskies' defensive infield, helping contribute to the squad's league leading, 58 double plays.

Alongside Holzwasser, three Northeastern student-athletes also received preseason consideration from the league's coaches, garnering 2018 Preseason All-CAA Honorable Mention distinction: senior shortstop Max Burt, junior outfielder Charlie McConnell, and senior pitcher Brian Christian.

FEBRUARY 24: MIZZ-WHO?

After going hitless during his first four at-bats of the day, Charlie McConnell drove in three of the Huskies' six late-game runs to lead Northeastern's comeback effort against Missouri, providing NU with its first win against an SEC opponent in program history.

McConnell singled Kyle Peterson home during the top of the eighth inning to cut Missouri's lead to 7-6 prior to unloading the eventual game-winning, two-RBI double to left field that created the 10-8 score line.

Kyle Murphy tossed the final two and two-thirds innings of game one for Northeastern, following McConnell's ninth-inning heroics by sandwiching three infield groundouts around a two-out walk.

The Huskies went on to win the final game of the series to earn the four-game series split against the Tigers.

march 10: win over no. 17 auburn

Receiving nearly eight complete innings of no-hit pitching by sophomore stud Sean Mellen, the Northeastern baseball team scored a major program win against No. 17 Auburn during the second game of a Saturday doubleheader, ending the ranked Tigers' undefeated season with a 2-1 victory at Plainsman Park.

Mellen's the man

Mellen came within four outs of throwing the Huskies' first no-hitter since April 7, 2006 (Adam Ottavino), and was named CAA Pitcher of the Week for his stellar performance.

With Mellen's success mirroring that of its red-hot offense, Northeastern (9-5) ascended to No. 4 in the March 11 NCAA RPI rankings, trailing Clemson, Auburn, and Texas Tech – the latter two programs of which both appeared on the Huskies' 2018 calendar.

march 13: the boys are back in town

With seven batters combining to swing its nine hits, the Northeastern baseball team motored past Hartford, 3-1, on a chilly Monday afternoon in Brookline during the Huskies' 2018 home opener at Friedman Diamond.

march 20: it really is a marathon, not a sprint

In a five-hour and 24-minute contest against Boston College, the Northeastern baseball team buckled down for the long haul and defeated BC, 7-4, during a wild, 18-inning affair at Brighton Field – the first-ever game to be held at the Eagles' new ballpark.

The victory marked the Huskies' first against BC in seven tries dating back to April 21, 2014, at Friedman Diamond, while the game itself ranks as the second longest in Northeastern history in terms of both innings pitched and game duration.

march 30-april 1: familiar faces

Holzwasser's RBI double three batters into the Northeastern baseball team's March 30 CAA opener foreshadowed the Huskies' late-inning surge as NU began its regular-season title defense with a 10-2, wire-to-wire victory against James Madison at Veterans Memorial Park. NU went on to cap the series with an 8-1 win against the Dukes on Sunday.

After hitting .500 and slugging .938 during the Northeastern baseball team's 3-1 week that featured the Huskies taking two out of three conference games against James Madison, NU first baseman and designated hitter Ryan Solomon was named CAA Player of the Week.

april 3: kyle "beanpot grand slam" peterson

Kyle Peterson's pinch-hit grand slam during the top of the eighth inning of the Beanpot semifinal game at Friedman Diamond helped the Northeastern baseball team overcome a five-run deficit against Massachusetts and propelled the Huskies back into the tournament's title game upon NU winning the rain-filled affair, 10-8.

The rocket was Peterson's first career home run.

But Peterson proved to be more than a one-hit wonder in the championship game one week later.

With Northeastern leading, 1-0, on April 10 against Harvard, Scott Holzwasser remained aggressive by swiping second base, allowing him to occupy third base after Jake Farrell's single to right field. In the aftermath of NU gaining a 2-0 edge via back-to-back walks issued to Max Burt and Ian Fair, Peterson unloaded his second career homer – and second career grand slam – to the right field bleachers, putting the Huskies in the driver's seat early.

However, Northeastern would ultimately succumb to the Crimson's comeback as the Huskies finished runner-up in the 29th annual Baseball Beanpot.

april 7-8: off to a good start

The Huskies opened CAA play at Friedman Diamond with a weekend sweep of Elon to improve to 5-1 - the team's best start to conference play in program history.

Northeastern (17-10, 4-1 CAA) plagued Elon (17-14, 4-4 CAA) with seven unearned runs during Saturday's twin-billing, six of which the Huskies scored during the opening game to counter Kyle Brnovich's 10 strikeouts across six and two-thirds innings. The seventh and final unearned run came home during the very last scoring play of the day, when John Mazza broke the second game's 5-5 tie with his eighth-inning, RBI single to right field.

april 27-29: a weekend for the record books

Northeastern scored 47 runs during its three-game sweep of Towson, smashing the program record for the most runs scored during a three-game series (previously 35 runs, set during the Huskies' three-game, 2009 series against Towson). The Huskies' 47 runs also tied the program record for most runs scored during any multi-game series (four-game, 2017 home sweep of NYIT).

Northeastern's 45 combined runs on Friday and Saturday against Towson broke the program's record for the most runs scored during consecutive games (previously 36 runs, set during a 1986 doubleheader against Boston University).

On the Monday following the series, the Northeastern baseball team landed a pair of CAA weekly award winners as the conference named Charlie McConnell and Ian Fair its respective Player and Rookie of the Week. McConnell and Fair combined to blaze .667 at the plate, swing four extra-base hits, score 10 of the squad's 47 runs, and register 11 RBIs during the weekend romp against Towson.

Max Burt also became the only player in Northeastern history to appear in 200 games and notch 200 career hits during the series.

McConnell led Northeastern in nearly all offensive categories against Towson, hitting .727 (eight-for-11) while pacing NU in runs (six), stolen bases (eight), slugging percentage (1.091), and on-base percentage (.714). After hooking an RBI triple to right field as his only hit during Friday's 22-2 rout, the junior outfielder bounced back to enjoy a four-for-four day at the plate during Northeastern's 23-6 victory on Saturday, barreling a three-RBI triple during his second at-bat of the Huskies' nine-run first inning. He finished his weekend by cracking three of Northeastern's four hits during its 2-1 win on Sunday, reaching base during all four of his plate appearances.

Fair posted a .600 batting average (six-for-10), opening the series with back-to-back, multi-hit games on Friday (two-for-three) and Saturday (three-for-four) en route to claiming the first CAA weekly award of his career. The redshirt-freshman successfully maintained his program-record hitting streak through the duration of the weekend, elevating it to 21 consecutive games while also continuing to increment his (at the time) 24-game on-base streak.

may 1-2: midweek mastery

With sophomore right-hander David Stiehl scattering two hits across seven shutout innings on May 1 against UMass Lowell, the Northeastern baseball team made relatively quick work of the River Hawks as the Huskies prevailed, 4-2, polishing off their ninth straight victory.

Burt, the newest member of the Huskies' 200-hit club, went three-for-four to lead Northeastern (27-13), which improved to 7-0 during its eight-game home stand. Burt accounted for two of the Huskies' five steals during the afternoon, sharing in the thievery with McConnell, who stole one bag to set the NU single-season record (30) and tie Aaron Barbosa for the program's career record (69).

Racking up six scoring innings against Bryant the following afternoon at Friedman Diamond, the Northeastern baseball team put the cherry on top of its undefeated, eight-game home stand as the Huskies took down the Bulldogs, 10-3, to win their 10th straight game and improve to 8-1 against New England opponents.

Rookie arms Sam Jacobsak and Brandon Dufault combined to no-hit the visitors through six innings, firing three frames apiece. Jacobsak collected nine outs from the first 10 batters he faced and was helped out of the fourth inning by Dufault, who went on to strike out four batters and walk none as Northeastern (28-13) headed into the seventh inning with a 9-1 lead.

Northeastern's 10-game winning streak marked the program's longest since the 2004 season, when the Huskies won 11 consecutive games.

may 4: the huskies are howwwwwwwwwwwlin'

Ryan Solomon's solo home run during the top of the sixth inning broke the Northeastern baseball team's scoreless tie with Hofstra and backed Tyler Brown's eight-strikeout shutout start as the Huskies went on to win their series opener against the Pride, 5-1, extending their winning streak to 11 consecutive games.

Northeastern's 11-game winning streak tied for the third longest in program history, trailing its 20-game winning streak set during 1991 and its 12-game streak set during 1972. The Huskies had won 18 of their last 21 CAA regular-season games, including a streak of eight in a row.

With a 3-0 win on March 6 against Hofstra, the Huskies earned the series victory and could go ahead and book their plane tickets to Virginia as NU clinched its spot in the 2018 CAA Baseball Championship.

may 9: it's a dog eat dog world in New england

New England's top two Division I baseball programs squared off against each other on May 9 at Friedman Diamond as the CAA-leading Northeastern Huskies hosted No. 22 Connecticut during an RPI top-30 matchup.

Northeastern and Connecticut both received points during that week's NCBWA national top 30 poll. While NU received top-30 votes, UConn was ranked No. 22.

Chasing top-ranked Connecticut, second-ranked Northeastern closed its gap behind first place to just one point in the seventh release of the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Division I regional poll. NU, which received two first-place votes, has had been slotted behind UConn during each of the poll's first seven reveals of the season.

Northeastern received another solid midweek start out of David Stiehl, who excelled after surrendering his only run during the first inning. Stiehl struck out five batters across six and one-third innings on the mound, walking two while weathering seven UConn hits.

Mason Koppens led NU with his three-for-four day out of the Huskies' ninth spot in the batting order. John Mazza also doubled to lead off Northeastern's two-run third inning.

NU caught a fortunate break to open its eighth-inning response to Connecticut's five-run top half as Max Burt turned a dropped third strike into a free base, advancing courtesy of Zac Susi's errant throw to first. After Burt had moved into scoring position on a passed ball, Cam Walsh drove a two-out, RBI single to center field, trimming the UConn lead down to 6-3 and bringing NU pinch-hitter Peterson to the plate.

may 13: senior sunday

Before the series finale against UNCW that would also mark the end of the season at the Friedman Fortress, Northeastern honored the seven members of its 2018 senior class (the winningest four-year class in program history): Max Burt, Brian Christian, Mason Koppens, Nolan Lang, Kevin Martinis, Zach Perry and Tyler Robinson.

may 17: hi, first-round bye

Scoring during all but two innings of its series opener at Delaware, the Northeastern baseball team locked up a first-round bye in the 2018 CAA tournament by blanking the Blue Hens, 10-0, at Bob Hannah Stadium, jointly laying claim to the program's record-breaking, 32nd regular-season win.

may 18: oops, we did it again

Upon earning his record-setting, 12th save of the season, junior closer Andrew Misiaszek put the cap on the Northeastern baseball team's 5-2 victory against Delaware at Bob Hannah Stadium as the Huskies clinched their second consecutive outright CAA regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.

may 23: and the winners are...

Fresh off notching a school record, 33 regular-season wins en route to claiming its second consecutive CAA regular-season championship, the Northeastern baseball team was presented with a league high, nine all-conference selections during the 2018 CAA Baseball Postseason Awards Show, which included the announcements of Charlie McConnell as Player of the Year, Ian Fair as one of two Rookie of the Year mentions, and Mike Glavine as Coach of the Year.

The mastermind behind Northeastern's historic and record-breaking regular season, Glavine celebrates his second straight CAA Coach of the Year title during just his fourth career head coaching campaign. During 2018, he fronted the Huskies into national relevancy, steering the program to a series of top RPI wins, including its first-ever victories (three) against the SEC. With Glavine at the helm, Northeastern achieved its highest CAA winning percentage to date (.739), locked up the No. 1 seed in the 2018 CAA tournament, and is now on the verge of a deep postseason run.

Fair – Northeastern's first CAA Rookie of the Year selection since Jason Vosler (2012) – traded time between second and third base during 2018. The six-foot-three infielder posted a .331 first-year batting average across 40 appearances and 35 starts, hammering eight doubles, three triples, and two home runs to rank second on the squad in slugging percentage (.466). More impressively, Fair attained the longest hitting streak in program history when he hit safely during 22 consecutive games from March 20 to May 1 and will enter the 2018 CAA tournament in possession of a 35-game on-base streak.

After leading the CAA in hits (73) and stolen bases (34) while ranking second in batting average (.353), McConnell becomes the first Northeastern player to be named a conference Player of the Year since 1994, when Derek Gauthier took home America East Player of the Year honors. As the Huskies' leadoff hitter, McConnell excelled in rounding the bases, scoring a team high, 42 runs, while setting both the program's single-season and career stolen base records. He also paired his 10 doubles with five triples and one homer, totaling 25 RBIs and pacing NU in on-base percentage (.432).

Northeastern's nine honorees were spread evenly across the league's three postseason teams. McConnell, the Huskies' speedy outfielder, joined third baseman Solomon and starting pitcher Mellen on the All-CAA First Team while first baseman Farrell and outfielder Koppens shared placement on the All-CAA Second Team with Fair, Northeastern's utility man.

Rounding out the Huskies' all-conference class were senior shortstop Burt, starting pitcher Brown, and relief pitcher Misiaszek, who all received selections to the All-CAA Third Team.

so about that unfinished business...

No. 1 Northeastern will face fourth-seeded UNCW during its first 2018 CAA tournament outing, after the Seahawks defeated No. 5 Delaware on a walk-off RBI double on Wednesday.

First pitch between the Huskies and the Seahawks is set for 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 24.

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