Three-Run Second Inning Propels Northeastern to 4-1 Victory Over Harvard in Beanpot Semifinals

A three-run second inning lifted Northeastern to a 4-1 victory over Harvard in the 2026 Baseball Beanpot semifinals on Wednesday afternoon, with both teams scoring only once more and combining for only one hit in the final five innings.

The Crimson (5-17, 4-4 Ivy) faced off against the Huskies (17-14, 10-5 CAA) for the first round of the Beanpot Tournament, following four consecutive losses to Northeastern last year — including a 5-4 loss in the 2025 Beanpot Championship at the historic Fenway Park.

Northeastern scored four runs on just three hits, compared to Harvard’s sole run across five hits.

With runners on both second and third base early in the second inning, Northeastern freshman second-baseman Charlie Criscola hit a single off Harvard sophomore pitcher Owen Tahnk, enabling sophomore catcher Cooper Tarantino to score the Huskies’ first run.

Criscola stole a base on the next play, and a hit-by-pitch on junior infielder Chris Walsh set Northeastern up with the bases loaded. A ground ball found its way through the left side of the infield and provided enough time for two Huskies runners to touch home base, bolstering their lead to 3-0 — an advantage the visitors did not cede for the rest of the game.

“Tough conditions for both teams. It’s a little chilly. We just had that one bad inning. Other than that, with the competition against a good team, I felt that our pitchers, despite that second inning, did a really good job,” Harvard’s head coach Bill Decker said. “Offensively, we got to sit on more fastballs. When the opportunity comes, we got to get that runner across the plate.”

Harvard’s pitcher escaped the inning soon after, as the home team was able to notch two quick outs with ducks still on the pond. However, when at bat, the Crimson struggled, exiting the bottom of the second with a three-up and three-down.

Looking to avoid taxiing its weekend staff for Ivy play, the Crimson leaned heavily on its bullpen, rotating seven different pitchers onto the mound throughout the game. The pitchers held Northeastern firm with no hits across all two-out situations. Freshman Davis Kahn led the team by allowing only one hit across eight at-bats with runners on base.

“Our plan was to throw as many guys as we had to get them ready for the weekend,” Decker said.

“It was just a matter of just getting to the next guy and letting him do his job and hand the ball off to his team,” he added.

Three Huskies struck out in the third inning as the home team survived two errors, and an RBI single by junior shortstop Jack Rickheim paved the way for sophomore catcher Liam Wilson to score Harvard’s first and only run of the game.

Northeastern finished the game with seven stolen bases to the Crimson’s one, two of which were nabbed by junior centerfielder Ryan Gerety to position himself at third base early in the fourth. An RBI grounder skyed towards Harvard’s shortstop, leaving Rickheim with no play at the plate, was enough for Gerety to close the game’s scoring at 4-1.

Harvard senior third-baseman Jordan Kang made his way to third base in the bottom of the fourth, but a lack of hits from the Crimson’s batting lineup closed the inning without a response from the home team.

For the rest of the game, the sides exchanged no-hit innings for a quiet finish, besides Harvard junior second-baseman Tyler Shulman’s single in the seventh inning.

The Crimson sat down the Northeastern side in order twice in the final five innings, while Harvard was held to one. Both teams stranded three runners on base, once in three separate innings, which was the result of walks for all but one.

“Our guys have tried to do the right thing. We were supposed to play yesterday, but that's just what happens in baseball. You have to be ultra-flexible,” Decker said.

“Our guys have been very diligent in communicating with their professors, and they’ve been great at working together to allow us to continue to play these afternoon games,” the coach added. “We just need to stay on task.”

Harvard makes the trip to New Haven, Conn., to take on its Ivy League rival and current conference leader Yale (17-9, 7-2) this weekend in a three-game series. The Crimson will then take on the University of Massachusetts in the Beanpot consolation game on Tuesday.

“We got seven weekends out there, and every game is super important in the league. It’s always tight. Any game could go anyway,” captain utilityman Gio Colasante said. “It’s really just the same thing it has been the last three weeks, and we should go out, taking the game one at a time, and try to win the series.”

—Staff writer Uy B. Pham can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ubp.88. Follow him on X @uybpham.