A Brief History Of The Northeastern University Vs Boston Red Sox Spring Training Game

The Red Sox won their first game against the Northeastern University Huskies at Fenway Park in 1977, 10-2. The budding rivalry went dormant for 27 years. In 2004, the two teams began their annual tradition of playing in spring training.

Image courtesy of © Andrew West, Fort Myers News-Press USA TODAY NETWORK - FLORIDA

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It kicked off with a 7-0 shutout for the Red Sox over a Northeastern University team that included future major leaguer Adam Ottavino. The following season, the Red Sox would throw a combined no-hitter, winning the game 17-0.

Nuexperience GIF by Northeastern University

The 2006 game saw Northeastern’s Chris Emanuele hit a home run off Red Sox starter Matt Clement’s first pitch. Considering Clement was coming off a 2005 season where he made his only career All-Star game, it was probably a huge thrill for Emanuele. Although Northeastern would only score one more run in the game, with the Red Sox winning 9-2.

Ottavino’s last season at Northeastern was in 2006, which means the 2007 team was devoid of future major-league talent. However, the Red Sox were back in shutout form, winning 11-0.

From 2006 until 2011, the Huskies were shut out by the Red Sox every year. In 2011, Northeastern put up a bit of a fight, scoring two runs, but it fell to the Red Sox 13-2.

In 2012, the Huskies received an injection of talent from Jason Vosler, a future major leaguer and current Chunichi Dragons infielder. However, the addition of Vosler could not help Northeastern, as the Red Sox won 25-0, the largest margin of victory in the series.

2013 was yet another shutout, but the Red Sox only won 3-0, the smallest margin of victory up to that point. 2014 was another three-run victory for Boston, with the team winning 5-2.

2014 was primarily considered a turning point for the Northeastern program. Northeastern alum and former major league first baseman Mike Glavine became the head coach. His hiring coincided with an influx of talent. 2014 was the first time in Northeastern’s history that two future major leaguers shared the roster: Jason Vosler and pitcher Aaron Civale. Since 2014, the preseason games have been relatively close.

2015 the Red Sox won 2-1 in the closest contest yet. In 2016, it was 8-3. In 2017, it was 9-6. Six runs is the most the Huskies ever scored against the Red Sox.

The game was held on February 20th, 2020. The Red Sox won 3-0. While the world was about to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic, college baseball wasn’t officially shut down until the following month. Northeastern played its final game of 2020 on March 11th.

There was no game in 2021 because of COVID-19 and no game in 2022 because of the lockout. The game returned in 2023, and the Red Sox won 5-3. Last year, the Red Sox won 7-2, and this year, they won 5-2.

While it is hard to draw any conclusions from the game itself, it is a tradition that Red Sox fans look forward to, indicating the beginning of baseball being played. It is also a special day for Northeastern baseball. Not many college players face a major league team every year. It is no wonder Glavine and Northeastern have been able to recruit better talent each season, and the program seems to be ascending.