The baseball team (3-8) split a Sunday doubleheader, defeating the College of the Holy Cross (3-17) but falling to Northeastern University (12-7-1). In both games, the winning team pulled ahead with a six-run rally in the late innings.
The Bears played on their home field for the first time since May 2019. Only seven of 26 on the roster, all seniors, had ever worn a home jersey in a game for Bruno. After 1,049 days, the remainder of the squad was finally able to play on the field they had been practicing on throughout the pandemic.
“We capitalized off our opportunities today,” said Head Coach Grant Achilles. “It was unreal to finally be back here. I can’t tell you the last time we have been in an all-white uniform. It was an all-around great day, especially in front of our home crowd.”
Brown 9, Holy Cross 4
The Bears defeated the Crusaders in their first game of the afternoon, with strong performances on the mound by Bobby Olsen ’23 and Paxton Meyers ’24. Olsen started the contest, allowing just one earned run on four hits and striking out seven batters over his six-inning showing. Meyers earned the win in relief and allowed one hit over 2 1/3 shutout innings.
“After being away for two years due to COVID, it was amazing to be able to be out there with the team. I was more excited than anything to play on the field that we have practiced for so long on,” Olsen said. “I’ve been feeling really good on the mound so far this season. The team has been competing really well this year, and it is a great feeling to have everyone behind you.”
The game was scoreless until the fifth inning, when Brown got on the board after Jared Johnson ’25 came around to score after drawing a walk to the plate. He advanced to second off a steal opportunity on a wild pitch, and Ray Sass ’23 brought him home on a hit up the middle to put the Bears ahead 1-0.
The Crusaders fought back, tying the game at 1-1 in the sixth inning, but Brown responded with a run of its own in the bottom of the sixth after Gunner Boree ’25 smacked an RBI double into the right field corner.
The Crusaders had not led all game until they jumped in front with three earned runs off of four hits in the seventh. But their efforts proved to be futile in the eighth inning when Brown plated six runs off of five hits. Johnson’s RBI single — his first career hit — tied the game, and two defensive errors from the Crusaders’ infield netted the Bears two more runs. Nathan Brasher ’25 sealed the victory with his first career home run over the left-field wall to seal the 9-4 result.
Northeastern 8, Brown 2
Brown fell to the Huskies 8-2 in its second game of the day. A tough seventh inning for the Bears cemented the loss, during which Northeastern earned six unanswered runs to put the game out of reach. Pitcher Tobey McDonough ’23 gave the Bears a strong start with his six-inning effort that resulted in a no-decision, punching out six batters and surrendering just one run off of two hits.
Unlike in game one, the Bears wasted no time jumping on board in game two. Ryan Marra ’23 turned a 2-1 fastball to deep right-center into a solo home run to give Brown a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Brown held onto the lead but struggled to extend it amid an offensive lull for the next five innings. The Bears lost their advantage when Northeastern scored once to tie in the sixth.
The game slipped away from Bruno in the top of the seventh inning when the Huskies plated six runs on five hits, including a three-run home run that made it 7-1. Brown was unable to mount a comeback and only earned one run back in the seventh inning after Reece Rappoli ’24 led off with a double and was sent home on a single by Jackson Hipp ’22.
During the game, Jack Seppings ’25 took the Murray Stadium mound for the first time. The first-year athlete came on in relief and only gave up one run in the top of the ninth, halting the momentum the Huskies had built up in the seventh inning.
“I was just keeping my confidence up in a high-pressure situation like that,” Seppings said. “Last outing I got hit around a little bit, but I’m glad I got right on track for my team and was able to stay consistent. It’s the consistency we need and I know moving forward into (Ivy League play) this week we have a really great opportunity ahead of us.”
The Bears open Ivy League play this weekend with a three-game set on the road against Dartmouth.
