The Dog Pound

WEEKEND PRIMER

Riding a 3-game winning streak and victorious in four of their last 5 games, Northeastern looks to improve on their CAA record as Virginia Commonwealth comes to Brookline for a three game set this weekend.

With a win today and tomorrow, the Huskies will finish March with a record of 13-5 before the finals game of the series April 1.

Including the opening round of the Beanpot Tournament versus UMass and non-league matchups against New England foes URI and Harvard, this is a pivotal juncture of the season where we will learn a lot about Coach McPhee, in his 26th year, and his 2012 squad. The month of April will see the Huskies play 18 games, 13 of which are Colonial league matchups.

Currently sixth in the CAA at 3-3, Northestern will look to make a leap in the standing against a VCU team who is currently 9th in the CAA with a 3-6 conference record. The Rams and are led by Joey Cujas who leads the CAA with a .448 batting average and .549 on-base percentage. NU’s John Puttress trails Cujas by .19 and is second in the CAA with a .429 average.

After the series against VCU, the Huskies will hit the road for a game at Rhode Island then shoot to Virginia to face a James Madison squad who enter today as the last place team in the CAA standings with a 1-8 conference record. The Huskies then setup shop at Friedman Diamond for 11 home games (not including Beanpot) with series against CAA foes George Mason, UNC-Wilmington and Towson as well as two non-league matchups to close out April.

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Brookline, Mass.- Boston College invaded Friedman Diamond on Tuesday March 27, but left dejectedly as the Huskies improved to 12-7 on the season with a 12-11 victory. The 9-14 Eagles were sent back to Chestnut Hill with a sour taste in their mouths after allowing 5 runs in the bottom of the ninth inning in the non-league battle of neighboring institutions.

The Huskies were paced by freshman Jason Vosler who finished 3-5 with 2 triples, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored while junior John Puttress delivered the game tying RBI single and scored the winning run after entering the game in the eighth inning. Northeastern showed a lot of intestinal fortitude as they battled all afternoon and survived two big innings, where BC would score all their runs with 7 in the third and 4 in the fifth.

After a scoreless first inning, Jason Vosler hit his first triple with one out then scored on an Alex Mckeon sacrifice fly to put the Huskies up 1-0.

Making his fourth start of the season, Husky right-hander Matt Cook would last only 3 innings after BC responded in the top of the third with 7 runs of their own. Cook started the inning off by walking the first two batters, allowing a single then walking in an Eagle run to tie the game at one. BC would put together a string of RBI hits including a 2 run triple by catcher Marr Pare before Cook ended the threat with consecutive ground balls to second basemen Michael Foster as the Eagles jumped out to a 7-1 lead.

Boston College starter Steve Green did not fare much better as was chased in the bottom of the third after allowing singles to the first three Husky batters he faced, then walked in a run before allowing a sacrifice fly to Jon Leroux and a two-run single from Vosler. With the score 7-5, BC called upon senior lefty Nate Bayuk to stop the bleeding as he struck out Connor Lyons with the bases loaded to end the threat.

The Huskies added one more in the bottom of the fourth to cut the deficit to 7-6 after Matt Miller hit a sacrifice fly scoring Foster who tripled earlier. BC responded with their second big inning of the afternoon pushing their lead to 11-6 in the top of the fifth, as they would plate 4 runs off of freshman Matt Goreham who made his first career appearance on the mound for NU.

Vosler continued to be the pulse of the Huskies as he led off the bottom of the fifth with his second triple on the day and scored on a McKeon sacrifice fly to keep Northeastern within striking distance at 11-7.

Still trailing 11-7 entering the bottom of the ninth and the meat of their order due up, the Huskies started off with three consecutive singles before an RBI fielder’s choice hit by Vosler cut the BC lead to 3. With one out, BC pitcher Tyler Hinchliffe was lifted in favor of Kyle Prohovich who was greeted rudely by the first batter he faced as Alex McKeon laced a double to right center plating two. With the tying run on second, the C.A.A. second leading batter John Puttress delivered a single plating the run for his 14th RBI on the season. After advancing to third via a Connor Lyons single and an Aaron Barbosa walk, Puttress would cross the plate with the winning run after a Prohovich wild pitch for the 12-11 Huskey walk-off win.

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Conference realignment may be picking up once again. On Sunday, CBS Sports’ Brett McMurphy reported that informal discussions were taking place between VCU, George Mason, and the Atlantic 10 conference for a possible move in 2013. VCU and Mason, of course, have both made the final four in the [admittedly infrequent] years that the CAA has received multiple bids to the NCAA tournament. Adding to the fodder was Duquesne’s president, after firing coach Ron Everhart:

Duquesne president Charles J. Dougherty mentioned the A-10′s plans for expansion in an email he sent to his board of trustees explaining his decision to fire basketball coach Ron Everhart. The email was obtained by CBSSports.com. “The A10 conference itself is on the verge of a major improvement with the addition of new high quality university programs,” Dougherty wrote. “All of this amounts to an exciting professional opportunity for a new coach.”

On Wednesday, news broke that Georgia State was in discussions with the Sun Belt conferencel. The move would be primarily motivated by GSU’s football program, which since its inception has been thought of as leverage for GSU to move to an FBS-participating conference. A move, reported by McMurphy, would come as early as 2013.

The Sun Belt is strongly considering extending an invitation to Georgia State and the parties have had informal discussions. An invitation could occur in the coming weeks with Georgia State a possibility to be added to the league as early as 2013, sources said.

While Georgia State would compress the conference’s geographic spread, the loss of VCU and Mason on the basketball side would be seismic shifts for competitiveness in the league. Adding to the unease is the sense that Old Dominion and James Madison are beefing up football programs, aiming at the FBS. While most of the discussion is conjecture and speculation, it’s a fascinating glimpse at conference realignment which is still unfolding. Mike Litos, as always, has a calm and reasoned discussion about why a move from VCU and Mason won’t come for at least another few months.

Hockey got a dose of realignment talk on Wednesday as well. UConn, which had recently hired a consultant to evaluate its hockey program, is reportedly applying to become Hockey East’s 12th team in 2013, as reported by College Hockey News:

Connecticut is believed to be the first choice among a large majority of the conference’s athletic directors. It is a natural fit because it is a state school in New England, a la Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Mass.-Lowell and Vermont. And Connecticut’s women’s program currently plays in Hockey East.

A 12th team would move the number of conference game to 22 (teams would play each other twice each season), increasing the non-league games by 5. UConn’s main hurdle is its arena: they currently play at the small Frietas Ice Forum, which holds less than 2,000 spectators, inadequate for Hockey East’s arena standards.

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In a wild, back-and-forth game, Northeastern scores five runs in the bottom of the ninth and prevails with a bit of deja vu, a wild pitch to win the game.

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This past weekend saw the Husky baseball team sweep a two-game series in Virginia versus Richmond University (13-8) winning game one by a score of 15-10 and game two 8-2. Northeastern coach Neil McPhee rode two strong pitching performances from senior LHP Andrew Leenhouts (3-0; 3.48 ERA) and junior LHP Kevin Ferguson (4-0; 1.72 ERA).

With the sweep the Huskies improve to 11-7 on the season as they prepare to face Boston College in a non league matchup for local bragging rights on Tuesday 3/27/12 at Friedman Diamond. First pitch is slated for 3:00pm.

GAME 1: Win 15-10
In a back and forth game that saw scoring outbursts from both teams; the Huskies were propelled behind a 9-run seventh inning en route to a 15-10 victory.

Leenhouts picked up the win allowing 4 runs on 5 hits over 6 innings to go along with 8 strikeouts.

Down 1-0 after a solo home run from Richmond DH Matt Zink in the first, NU responded in the top of third with six runs of their own. Sparked by a one out Aaron Barbosa RBI triple which scored Michael Foster who previously singled, the Huskies were provided with a five run cushion courtesy of a grand slam by Jason Vosler, followed by a solo shot from Rob Fonseca for their fourth home runs respectively on the 2012 campaign.

The Spiders bounced back with three runs of their own in the bottom of the third cutting the Husky lead to 6-4 after a 3-run shot by two-time A10 second team catcher Chris Cowell.

The score would remain 6-4 until the seventh inning where both teams combined for 15 runs. The Huskies scored 9 runs in the inning off a combination of 5 hits and 2 Spider errors for a comfortable 15-4 lead until Richmond responded with 6 runs of their own behind a three-run homer from first basemen Bryan Conway to cut the Husky lead to 15-10.

With the win hanging in the balance, McPhee could not let another formidable outing from Leenhouts go to waste like last weekend’s 11 run come from behind loss at Georgia St, as he turned to his bullpen for the final 9 outs in the game. Despite the 6 runs allowed from Mike Hanlon, who has struggled mightily this season in relief allowing 10 earned runs in just 9.1 innings pitched, the NU bullpen managed to shut the door behind a scoreless inning of work from both Sam Berg and Nick Berger in preserving the road victory.

GAME 1: Win 8-2

Game two of the series on Sunday saw junior starter Kevin Ferguson throw 7 scoreless innings while scattering 7 hits and striking out 8 in the victory. Ferguson lowered his team leading ERA to 1.72 good for third best in the CAA while improving to a team best 4-0.

The Husky bats started off fast and furious scoring 3 runs in the top of the first inning while subsequently scoring a run in the next two innings to go up 5-0 after three innings of play.  Spider’s starter Ryan Cook got knocked out of the game after lasting only 3 innings.

After adding a run in the top of the sixth to make it 6-0, Nick Berger eventually came on in relief of Ferguson in the eighth inning and decided to make things a little interesting. After a lead off double, followed by a hit batsman and a walk, the Spiders seemed poised to stage a comeback with the bases loaded and no outs. Yet Berger settled down and retired Phil Flannagan via a 4-6-3 double play that plated a run. After an RBI single from Richmond’s Ryan Mallory, Berger got the third out via a fly ball to right field stranding a runner in scoring position.

The Huskies added an insurance run off of a Fonseca sacrifice fly and another off of a Spider’s passed ball to go up 8-2 in the top of the ninth, which proved to be all Northeastern would need as Michael Foster came in for the final three outs for the series sweep.

TFitz Baseball, The Dog Pound CAA Baseball

Tuesday, March 27

3:00 p.m. – Northeastern Baseball: Huskies vs. Boston College Eagles
from Friedman Diamond
with Alex Faust and David Kroopnick
Broadcast on WRBB Sports Extra

Thursday, March 29

8:00 p.m. – Hockey East This Week
Season finale

Friday, March 30

3:00 p.m. – Dog Pound Sports Sound
Season finale

Saturday, March 31

12:00 p.m. – Northeastern Baseball: Huskies vs. VCU Rams
from Friedman Diamond
with Patrick McHugh and Coray Runge
Broadcast on WRBB Sports Extra

Sunday, April 1

1:00 p.m. – Northeastern Baseball: Huskies vs. VCU Rams
from Friedman Diamond
with Zolan Kanno-Youngs and David Kroopnick
Broadcast on WRBB Sports Extra

WRBB Sports Baseball, The Dog Pound BC, VCU

In the second game at Friedman Diamond this season, the Huskies could not overcome a rough second inning that saw Central Connecticut State score 4 runs on 3 hits and 2 NU errors en route to a 4-3 Blue Devils victory.

Northeastern now drops to 9-7 on the season, while CCSU pulled their record to .500 and are now 7-7 with the win.

The second inning was the only blip on the radar for Husky sophomore starter Matt Cook, who looked very impressive in his third start of the season. Cook threw 6 innings allowing 4 runs on 6 hits and now falls to 1-1 on the year.

Junior Jon Leroux was the lone bright spot for the Husky offense in the loss as he provided 2 of the 3 RBI on the day with two solo blasts for his first homers of the season.

The Huskies had a chance for a walk-off victory in the ninth. After a Connor Lyons walk and an Aaron Barbosa double down the right field line, CCSU pitcher Tom Coughlin walked John Puttress to load the bases with one out in hopes of a double play. The Huskies seemed to be in good shape as Matt Miller the three batter in the lineup stood at the plate with the tying run just 90 feet away. But Coughlin and CCSU’s strategy went as planned as Miller hit a liner to the CCSU first basemen who made a diving snare before tagging first base for the game ending double play.

The Huskies now head to Virginia to face a formidable Richmond Spider squad who are 13-6 on the season and 2-3 in their last five games after winning 11 games in a row.

BY THE NUMBERS
• John Puttress is 5th in the CAA batting .426 among players with 40+ plate appearances.
• Jon Leroux is batting .400 tied for 8th in the CAA.
• Freshman Nick Berger who pitched a scoreless frame in the loss, has now thrown 5 innings of no-hit ball in relief this season as he leads NU with a 0.00 ERA.

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Why should the basketball fans get all the fun? It’s time for that lesser-known tradition: hockey brackets! This year, WRBB is partnering with the New England Revolution to give the top 3 finishers in this year’s WRBB Hockey Bracket Challenge prize packs. Here’s how to enter:

Go to pickemhockey.com/bracket.

Join the group named WRBB (password: Huskies).

The top three finishers win these prizes:

1. New England Revoloution Adidas practice jersey and shorts
2. New England Revolution t-shirt + schedule poster
3. New England Revolution schedule poster

Prize giveaways are limited to current Northeastern students.

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WRBB Sports is partnering with the New England Revolution to promote the club’s new college student season ticket plan (to purchase, click here). The plan affords college students a discounted season ticket package to all 17 Revolution home games including contests against defending the MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy and arch rival New York Red Bulls. In addition, the plan gives access to summer international matches before tickets go on sale to the general public. In addition, students who purchase the ticket plan will receive a free Revolution t-shirt.

For more information on the college student season ticket plan, click here.

For its part, the Revolution are supporting programs on WRBB Sports:

• Underwriting 30/30 Husky Hotwire reports on the Dog Pound Sports Sound (spots began airing two weeks ago)
• Becoming the presenting underwriter of Northeastern Baseball broadcasts through the end of the semester (“Northeastern Baseball on WRBB Presented by the New England Revolution”)
• Providing prize giveaways for WRBB Sports’ annual hockey bracket challenge

The Revolution’s home season gets underway this Saturday as the Revs host the surging Portland Timbers.

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