No. 13 Kansas defeated the Northeastern Huskies 6-3 in the opening round of the NCAA Lawrence Regional on May 29 at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kansas. The Huskies (38-21) fell behind early after Kansas hit three home runs in the first three innings and later added a four-hit rally in the eighth to secure their victory.
Luc Rising took the loss for Northeastern, allowing four runs on four hits over 3.2 innings. Despite settling down after a difficult start, Rising could not overcome Kansas’s early offensive surge. “Rising set down the side in order in the first, striking out two, but Kansas broke through in a big way in the second. A one-out walk set the table for a two-run homer that gave the Jayhawks a 2-0 lead. Two batters later, a solo shot to left made it 3-0,” according to game coverage.
Will Fosberg responded for Northeastern with a solo home run to right-center field in the third inning, his third of the season, cutting into Kansas’s lead at 3-1. However, another leadoff solo home run by Kansas restored their three-run advantage shortly afterward.
The Huskies narrowed the gap with runs scored by Charlie Criscola and Ryan Gerety over consecutive innings and trailed just 4-3 entering late frames. Gerety led Northeastern offensively with three hits including a triple and two singles; Criscola contributed an RBI double while Fosberg’s homer accounted for another run.
David McSweeney provided relief pitching for Northeastern with 2.2 scoreless innings before Andrew Wertz entered and allowed two key runs during an eighth-inning rally by Kansas—the first runs Wertz had given up since mid-March.
Northeastern will face either No. 14 Arkansas or Missouri State next in an elimination game scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark.
