TOWSON, Md. – Faced with a “must-win” situation, senior lefthander Kevin Ferguson fired a six-hitter to lead Northeastern University (28-24, 12-15) to a 6-3 Colonial Athletic Association victory over the Tigers (25-28, 14-13) in the final game of the regular season at John B. Schuerholz Park on Saturday afternoon.
The victory enabled the Huskies to earn a berth in the CAA Tournament next week at James Madison University. The win also enabled Northeastern to avoid being swept by the Tigers, who won the first two games of the series, 14-1 and 7-6.
Ferguson, who upped his record to 7-4 on the season, pitched his third complete game of the season as he tossed a six-hitter. He only issued two walks and struck out 11, matching his career high.
Ferguson started the game by retiring the first five batters he faced. With two outs in second inning, sophomore centerfielder Richie Blosser blasted a solo home run over the left field fence. It was the first homer of his college career.
With two outs in the top of the third, the Huskies grabbed a 2-1 lead. With two outs, junior leftfielder Brad Burcroft doubled off the left field fence just inside the foul pole. One pitch later, sophomore first baseman Rob Fonseca hit a monstrous two-run homer over the left field fence, his fourth homer of the season. It was also his second home run of the series and gave the Huskies a 2-1 lead.
Ferguson protected the 2-1 lead into the top of the seventh inning, retiring 11 in a row at one point.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, junior centerfielder Sean Lyons was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame. When senior third baseman Pete Castoldi singled to left, the Huskies had two runners on base with no outs. Sophomore R.J. Roman tried to bunt the runners into scoring position. However, senior first baseman Kurtis Voytell tried to get the lead runner at third base. His throw was wild as Lyons and Castoldi scored to give Northeastern a 4-1 lead. After junior rightfielder Aaron Barbosa bunted Roman to third base, Burcroft hit a sacrifice fly to rightfield, scoring Roman to give the Huskies a 5-1 advantage.
In the eighth inning, senior catcher John Puttress added an insurance run when he hit a solo homer to left field. It was his first home run of the season.
In the bottom of the eighth, junior shortstop Hunter Bennett led off with a double to right centerfield. With two outs, junior second baseman Pat Fitzgerald singled to left, scoring Bennett and cutting the deficit to 6-2. However, junior designated hitter Kurt Wertz grounded out to first, ending the threat.
Ferguson finished off his complete game in the bottom of the ninth. After he issued a leadoff walk to junior Dominic Fratantuono, he retired the next two hitters. But, senior rightfielder Cody Reeves lined a double to left, scoring Fratantuono to pull Towson to within 6-3. But, Ferguson nailed down the win by getting Bennett to ground out, ending the game.
Prior to their final home game, the Tigers honored their seven seniors as Mike Bronakoski, Sean Bertrand, Mike Volpe and Michael Trionfo were saluted, along with senior catcher Andrew Parker, Reeves and Voytell.
Bronakoski was the Tigers' starting pitcher. He went 5.1 innings and allowed two runs on six hits with one walk and no strikeouts. Bertrand relieved Bronakoski and gave up four runs, two of which were unearned. He allowed two hits with a walk. Junior lefthander Kyle Paul retired all three hitters he faced.
The Huskies, who out hit Towson by an 8-6 margin, were led by shortstop Jason Vosler, who went three-for-four. Fonseca had two hits and drove in a pair of runs. In the three-game series, the Huskies hit six home runs. They had hit 10 homers in their first 48 games.
Blosser, who batted .556 in the series against Northeastern, went two-for-four in the regular season finale.
The Tigers, who are making their second straight appearance in the CAA Tournament, are the number four seed and will play at 12 noon on Wednesday, May 22 in Harrisonburg, Va.
