Breaking down : Northeastern Huskies give Red Sox a scare in traditional spring training opener

 

FORT MYERS, Fla. — When Northeastern University plays the Boston Red Sox in an exhibition game at JetBlue Park, it’s fun for the players.

But it’s also fun for the coaches, the parents, the grandparents and the scouts.

For the second time in three years, the Huskies gave the Red Sox a scare before falling, 5-2, on Friday afternoon.

Northeastern scored two runs in the top of the second inning and held that lead until the fourth when Boston responded with four runs. The Red Sox tacked on a run in the sixth.

Boston now has won all 21 meetings in the series, which goes back to 1977.

Two years ago, Boston beat Northeastern, 5-3. Part of that has to do with the program coach Mike Glavine has built

 

 

Last season, the Huskies went 38-17, the fourth time in 10 seasons under Glavine that they won 35 or more games.

In addition, Northeastern has seen 18 players get drafted since 2016.

“When I talked to the guys, I said we wanted to be competitive from the start,” Glavine said. “I thought we played really good defense today; and that’s a sign we didn’t have jitters.”