Walsh then pulled Tsujikawa for closer Barry Wahlberg, who forced a popout to end the inning. Suffering from a blister on his throwing hand, Wahlberg struggled in the ninth, loading the bases on a single, walk and hit batsman before being relieved by Brown.

The freshman—who wasn’t recruited as a pitcher—had only seen 1.2 innings of action all season but had shown promise in solid bullpen sessions. But with only the Ivy League maximum of twenty dressed players in his dugout, Walsh called for Brown.

“I was actually looking to use him today,” Walsh said. “I just didn’t envision that it would be that way.”

With the pitching change, Farkes moved from second to third base, and Salsgiver came in from right field to play second. The outfielder was tested immediately, when Brown got Brian Nutting to ground to shortstop. But the former high school infielder Salsgiver took the toss from Wallace and turned the double play with ease.

Junior Jason Brown pitched the first five innings for the Crimson, allowing only one run through the first four. In the fifth, four Huskies’ hits along with an error on a sacrifice bunt gave Northeastern its 6-1 lead.

Tsujikawa earned his first win of the season.

It was Harvard’s second-straight comeback victory over the Huskies (6-12). Last season, Harvard fell behind 9-0 at O’Donnell Field before rallying for a 15-10 victory.

With the Crimson locked in a three-way tie atop the Red Rolfe standings, its most recent win may provide much-needed confidence entering the season’s first divisional series. Harvard hosts Yale in a four-game set beginning Friday.

—Staff writer Lande A. Spottswood can be reached at spottsw@fas.harvard.edu.