BOSTON, Mass. – Junior
lefthander Kevin Ferguson pitched a
one-hit shutout and faced the minimum 27 batters as he led Northeastern
University (17-21, 7-14) to a 2-0 Colonial Athletic Association victory and a
three-game sweep over the Tigers (20-25, 10-11) in the final game of
their three-game weekend series at Friedman Diamond on Sunday afternoon.
The
Huskies, who swept a doubleheader on Saturday, handed Towson its first
three-game series sweep of the season as the Tigers' CAA Tournament hopes took
a big hit. Northeastern came into the series with a six-game losing streak and
was last in the CAA standings.
Ferguson
allowed only one hit in the game as sophomore leftfielder Kurt Wertz singled with one out in the second inning. However,
Ferguson picked him off first for the second out of the inning. After that,
Ferguson was perfect and didn't allow a base runner the rest of the game.
Ferguson,
who is now 5-3 on the season, did not walk anyone and struck out nine.
While
Ferguson was shutting out the Tigers in the early innings, the Tigers were also
blanking the Huskies.
Making his first start since April 7,
freshman righthander Taylor Clarke
shut out the Huskies on three hits through the first three innings. He didn't
walk anyone and struck out five. Freshman third baseman Rob Fonseca led off the second inning with a double but Clarke
struck out two batters to pitch out of the jam.
Senior righthander Tyler Austin relieved Clarke in the
fourth inning. He shut out the Huskies until the sixth inning.
In the bottom of the sixth,
Northeastern broke through to score the first run of the game. Senior Matt Miller led off the inning with a
walk. After he advanced to second base on a wild pitch, Fonseca walked.
Freshman second baseman Jason Vosler
drove in the first run of the game when he singled to rightfield, scoring
Miller with the go-ahead run. However, Austin came right back and struck out
the next two hitters before ending the threat by retiring sophomore shortstop Oliver Hart on a fly ball to right.
Ferguson continued to dominate the
Tigers in the seventh, retiring them in order. Through seven innings, Ferguson
faced the minimum 21 batters.
In the seventh inning, Northeastern
added another run. Sophomore
rightfielder Aaron Barbosa singled
with one out and stole second base. He advanced to third on an infield ground
ball and scored when Austin threw a wild pitch.
The Tigers went down in order in the
eighth inning for the sixth time in a row.
After freshman righthander Paul Beers retired the Huskies in the
eighth, Ferguson completed the shutout by retiring the Tigers in order in the
ninth. He retired the final 23 batters he faced.
The Tigers, who have lost six games in
a row, will be off until facing UNC Wilmington next weekend.
