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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Northeastern baseball is a program that is significantly on the rise, especially after the season the Huskies (36-21) just put together, which resulted in an NCAA Tournament appearance and a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championship.
On a more local note, Westwood native and former Xaverian football, hockey and baseball star Jake Farrell has been arguably the biggest contributor to Northeastern baseball’s recent rise after putting together a monster junior season that featured the former Hawk leading the team in RBI (63), home runs (11), doubles (16), and triples (8). Farrell also recorded 142 total bases - a new Northeastern program record - and strung together two separate 11-game hitting streaks throughout the season.
What makes Farrell’s breakout season even more significant is that it was all done after returning from a hamstring injury that forced him to miss almost all of his sophomore campaign.
“So far it’s just been great,” said Farrell when asked about his experience thus far at Northeastern. “I really could not have asked for anything more. Playing football, baseball and hockey in high school, it was definitely different once I got to college, because I never got the chance to just focus on one sport … whatever season it was, that’s sort of what I was doing. I’ve had a great experience at Northeastern so far. We’re coming off one of the best seasons that we’ve had in a while. It’s time to start focusing on baseball and to start buckling down and see how good we can be.”
Before his time at Northeastern, Jake Farrell (6) was a star quarterback at Xaverian and helped the Hawks to the Division I state championship his senior season in 2014. Photos by Xaverian Brothers High School and Northeastern Athletics
Farrell also says that his brother Ryan, who served as football captain at Xaverian and also played on the school’s hockey and baseball teams before playing football at the University of New Hampshire, has always been one of his biggest role models.
“I’ve always looked up to Ryan, especially since he got to Xaverian,” said Farrell. “When I got there my freshman year, he took me in under his wing and showed me the ins and outs and brought me into the weight room with him and the guys. He was a senior captain of the football team that year and showed me what to do, but also taught me how to grow up and be a big boy and learn how to do things on my own, as well. The overwhelming support he’s given me - whether it was my first game at quarterback at Xaverian or whatever - it’s been incredible. He’s been around the block, being a captain at UNH and everything he’s gone through, so having him to ask questions to about how to be a leader or really anything is something I’m definitely very thankful for.”
As for what to expect out of Northeastern baseball next season, Farrell says the goal for his team is to get better and build upon their success from 2018.
“Just like last year and every year before, we expect to get better,” said Farrell. “We reached our goal this year of winning the CAA and making the NCAA Tournament. It was really exciting for us. But I think this year, we are definitely trying to get back to that. Winning the CAA is our first goal, and getting back to the NCAAs and [continuing] to show what we think is there. It was upsetting the way things ended, going 0-2 in the regional, but next year we’re looking to build off this. We have a lot of players coming back with both pitchers and positional guys. Going into this year, everybody knows what we have to do to be successful, so we are ready.”
For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter at @fLAno0.
