‘Once-in-a-lifetime’: Medway resident pitches for Northeastern against Boston Red Sox

As James Quinlivan waited to board a flight out of Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Feb. 19, the Northeastern University pitcher was approached by head coach Mike Glavine following the Huskies’ series win over UNC Greensboro.

“Coach pulled me aside and said ‘Yeah, you’re starting against the Red Sox on Friday,’” Quinlivan said. “And I said ‘OK.’ It was exciting and a little nerve-wracking at the same time, a little bit of mixed emotions.”

Five days later, the Medway-raised Quinlivan found himself toeing the rubber at JetBlue Park in an exhibition game against his favorite childhood baseball team.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Quinlivan, a redshirt junior. “It was warm, which was nice. Seeing all those players, just being on the same field as them, it was very cool.”

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The Northeastern University baseball team’s flight to Florida last Thursday was canceled as soon as the Huskies were en route to the airport.

Stuck at Boston Logan International, the Huskies’ travel agency booked one flight for seven people and a different flight for the rest of the team. The contingent of baseball players and coaches didn’t arrive in Tampa until roughly 2 a.m. on Friday and didn’t make it to their hotel in Port Charlotte until 4:30 a.m.

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After a few hours of sleep, the Huskies traveled to Fort Myers to take on the Red Sox in their spring training opener.

“I was a little tired but super excited,” Quinlivan said. “A lot of adrenaline.”

Quinlivan faced seven Red Sox hitters in Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers, Kike Hernandez, Masataka Yoshida, Alex Verdugo, Jorge Alfaro and Triston Casas before exiting the game in the bottom of the first inning.

Although the 6-foot-6 left-hander didn’t fare as well as he had hoped in the Huskies’ 5-3 loss to the Red Sox, Quinlivan — whose favorite Red Sox player growing up was Jon Lester — was happy he got the starting nod against his hometown team.

“It was cool. I could see why (Devers is) the Red Sox’ best player. He’s impressive,” Quinlivan said. “I just like how it’s two Boston teams and that we still have a relationship with those guys.”

“I love having local guys pitch against the Red Sox and he earned it,” Glavine said.

Friday’s game marked the 18th time the Huskies have played the Red Sox in program history, and was the first time the two teams squared off since 2020. It’s a tradition that dates back to the mid-2000s — when the teams first started meeting to kick off the Red Sox preseason schedule.

“It was just a lot of fun, a great experience and I'm really, really proud of how the guys played and it was a blast to be back to normal,” Glavine said. “It’s a great thing that we do with the university and with the Red Sox.”

‘Once-in-a-lifetime’ experience for Medway's Quinlivan

Quinlivan attended Medway Public Schools through middle school and then began at Milton Academy as a freshman in high school.

He played baseball, basketball and football for the Mustangs before committing to play baseball at Northeastern University in 2018 and graduating from Milton Academy in 2019.

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After the Huskies’ 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Quinlivan has compiled a 2-1 record, 2.60 ERA and 14 strikeouts (in 17.1 innings) across two seasons with Northeastern.

“He’s got a fastball that runs up into the 90s,” Glavine said. “Big kid, has a changeup and a slider. He’s a guy we’re going to rely on as the season goes on.”

Moving forward, Quinlivan hopes to lend a hand in Northeastern (5-1) winning a Colonial Athletic Association title, reaching a regional and making a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

He won’t see many hitters, however, who are as talented as the ones he faced on Friday.

“It was a great experience,” Quinlivan said. “Once in a lifetime.”

Tommy Cassell is a senior multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tcassell@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @tommycassell44. 

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Northeastern's James Quinlivan pitches in exhibition game versus Sox