Farrell Leads Northeastern To 7-2 Victory Over Delaware
Rob Washburn
Box Score
CAA Championship Central
Highlights
HARRISONBURG, Va. (May 25, 2018) – Junior first baseman Jake Farrell drove in five runs as top-seeded Northeastern stayed alive in the CAA Baseball Championship by beating #5 Delaware, 7-2, Friday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park.
The Huskies (34-18) advance to play #2 Elon at 7 p.m. tonight, with the winner earning a berth in Saturday’s CAA championship game against #4 UNCW. The Blue Hens (31-27) ended their season with a 31-27 mark.
Farrell went 2-for-3 and had the only two extra-base hits of the game with a two-run double in the sixth and a two-run homer in the ninth. Freshman second baseman Ian Fair also had a big outing, going 3-for-5 with two RBI’s and two runs scored.
Senior outfielder Calvin Scott was the lone Delaware player with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI’s.
Junior right-hander Tyler Brown (8-3) earned the victory after limiting the Blue Hens to two runs on six hits over seven-plus innings. He blanked Delaware through the first seven frames before running into trouble in the eighth. Kyle Murphy worked 2.0 shutout innings to close out the win.
Senior Nick Spadafino (1-5) took the loss despite giving up only two runs on four hits in six-plus innings. He held NU to a single run over the first six frames.
Leading 1-0 after six innings, Northeastern broke the game open with a four-run seventh. The Huskies loaded the bases with a hit and two walks, and Fair, the CAA Co-Rookie of the Year, came through with a two-run single to left that plated Ryan Solomon and Mason Koppens. A ground-rule double to deep center by Farrell brought home Fair and Charlie McConnell to increase the Huskies’ advantage to 5-0.
Delaware rallied in the eighth. A pair of walks and a Kevin Mohollen base hit filled the bases with one out. Scott got the Blue Hens on the board by lining a two-run single to left that scored Mohollen and Erik Bowren and cut the gap to 5-2. UD put two runners in scoring position with two outs, but Murphy induced a pop up to escape the jam.
Farrell gave the Huskies some insurance in the ninth with his team-leading 10
th homer. He also drove in the game’s first run in third as his ground ball brought home McConnell from third.