Mississippi State baseball is in a regional for the second-straight season, headed to Tallahassee as a 3-seed in FSU's regional. And their first opponent of regional play is one many Bulldog fans are likely to be unfamiliar with.
The 2-seed Northeastern Huskies hail from Brookline, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. They're the regular season and tournament champions of the Coastal Athletic Association and are in a regional for the fourth time under head coach Mike Glavine. While the Huskies come from a league that hasn't exactly produced many baseball powers, MSU fans should know that this team is anything but a pushover. In fact, they may have the makings a Cinderella.
The Northeastern Huskies are the hottest team in the country
April 6. That's the last time Northeastern baseball lost a game. The Huskies enter the Tallahassee Regional having won 27 games in a row, easily the best streak going in college baseball. Many of those wins haven't even been close, as they've raced to a national-best 48 wins. Quite literally, there's no one hotter in college baseball.
Many will, understandably, question Northeastern's strength of schedule, and that's valid, as they check in at No. 168 in the metric. Playing in the CAA doesn't exactly provide many opportunities to bolster the resume, and the Huskies didn't challenge themselves with regularity in the non-conference slate.
Still, there are some notable wins. Northeastern won two games apiece against an NCAA Tournament team in Kansas State (37 RPI) and a UConn squad (41 RPI) many believe should have made a regional, two teams with resumes not too dissimilar from Mississippi State's. So while the Bulldogs will be far and away the most talented opponent the Huskies will have faced this season, Northeastern has played teams of similar resume quality.
Northeastern is elite on the mound
Dominance on the mound is what's led the Huskies on their rampage of wins. They lead the nation in team ERA at 2.92. In WHIP, they're first at 1.04. Strikeout-to-walk ratio? Second at 3.49. Their three starting pitchers all rank within the Top 35 nationally in ERA, with ace Will Jones (11-0) ranking second at 1.82. Out of the bullpen? They've got a trio of sub-2.00 ERA relievers ready to mow you down.
It's an absolute grind to put runs on the board against Northeastern. Now it's a fair question to ask how that pitching staff will perform against a lineup as deep and talented as Mississippi State's. But even if an SEC lineup can find some success at the plate, the Huskies have enough talent of their own offensively to still compete. Outfielders Harrison Fienberg and Cam Maldonado and shortstop Jack Goodman are all hitting at least .325 with 50+ RBI and have combined for 41 home runs. If they've got to plate some runs, they absolutely can.
While most college baseball fans recognize that there are many mid-major programs that warrant significant respect and can be national contenders, purely off of brand value, Northeastern isn't a program that would traditionally be viewed as a threat in a regional featuring historic powers FSU and MSU. But make no mistake. The Huskies are a legitimately strong team capable of making a deep run. They'll pose a real challenge to the Bulldogs when they meet Friday night in Tallahassee.