Baseball team wins series against Northeastern with walk-off hit

Some teams would have given up hope, down 4-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning, unable to get any offensive momentum going in the previous eight.

But coach Mark McQueen always stresses to his team to keep believing and keep battling, he said, no matter how hopeless the situation seems. That optimism paid off on Sunday afternoon, when the University of Richmond baseball team rallied in the ninth to win the series and the game in a 5-4 victory over the Northeastern University Huskies.

Senior pitcher and designated hitter Jacob Mayers was Sunday's star. His teammates stormed onto the field to greet him at first base after his two-out single brought home the winning run and completed the walk-off win.

Mayers led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, and first baseman Bret Williams, center fielder Joey Vecchione and second baseman Adam Forrer all followed suit with their own singles to score the first Spider run of the day.

Freshman pinch hitter Doug Kraeger then earned his first RBI of the season by being hit by a pitch, and left fielder Nick Poulos and shortstop Mike Small each batted in a run, before Mayers made his second plate appearance of the inning with two outs. He sent the ball rolling into left field, and the game was over as cheers erupted from the Spiders' dugout.

Overall, Mayers went 3-for-5 at the plate with one RBI and a run scored. He also made his first pitching start since last season, and gave up four earned runs and struck out seven in five and one-third innings.

An ugly 12-5 loss to the Huskies on Saturday made the victory on Sunday that much sweeter, Mayers said.

"We were pretty upset about that loss, and we wanted to get back at those guys," Mayers said. "I mean we wanted to crush them. It definitely motivated us extra to beat them today."

The Spiders took the lead early on Saturday, and though the game was tied 5-5 going into the eighth inning, the Huskies were able to score seven unanswered runs in the final two innings to solidify their victory.

Despite the loss on Saturday, the Spiders were still able to win the series because of the narrow 11-10 win they executed on Friday. Starting pitcher Zak Sterling lasted only two innings into the game, and was relieved by sophomore James Lively.

Lively did a great job of preventing Northeastern from scoring for five innings, McQueen said, but he gave up six hits in the eighth inning, one of which was a home run.

Sophomore Ray Harron relieved Lively, and between the two of them they allowed Northeastern to score seven runs to narrow the Spiders' lead to just one run. Closer Andrew Brockett then came in to pitch the final one and one-third innings, and prevented the Huskies from scoring anymore to earn his first save of the season.

"The hardest thing in baseball is staying focused all nine innings," McQueen said. "We did a great job except for one inning. I'd say we won eight innings and lost one. Fortunately it didn't cost us the game."

By winning the overall series, the Spiders advanced their record to 23-11, and remain 6-3 in conference play. The team plays next at William and Mary on Wednesday, before returning to Pitt Field for a three-game series against A-10 rival St. Joseph's University at 3 p.m. on Friday.

Contact staff writer Erin Flynn at erin.flynn@richmond.edu