The Hofstra University baseball team’s three-game series at Northeastern University began with a doubleheader. The Pride suffered defeats in both games on Friday, April 11. The Huskies, who currently hold the top spot in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), took game one 6-1 and game two 9-0.
Hofstra falls to a 12-23 overall record with a 3-8 record in CAA play, while Northeastern improves to a 24-9 overall record with a 9-2 conference record.
The Pride scored first in the doubleheader, driving in a run in the top of the second inning of game one. After Sean Lane doubled down the left field line, Dom Camera drove Lane home on a two-out single for Hofstra’s only run despite recording seven hits in game one.
Lane and Camera were the only Pride batters to record multiple hits in the morning game; Lane went 2-4 with one run scored while Camera went 2-3 with the only Hofstra RBI during the two-game span.
A small but mighty 1-0 lead for Hofstra disappeared at the bottom of the fourth inning on a three-run home run. After giving up back-to-back base hits to Cam Maldonado and Harrison Feinberg, Pride starter Sean Hamilton gave up a three-run shot to Jack Goodman for the recovering pitcher’s only three runs allowed against the Huskies.
In arguably his best start since coming back from Tommy John surgery, Hamilton recorded season-highs in both strikeouts and innings pitched, giving up three runs on three hits and one walk over six innings and also recording seven strikeouts. Nonetheless, Hamilton’s conceded home run in the fourth inning gave him his second loss of the season, remaining winless.
In his second-ever appearance for the Pride, rookie Christian Rasmussen gave up three more runs, including Goodman’s last in his four-RBI game one.
Game two felt more like a field day for Husky batters. Starter Jackson Bauer gave up a leadoff single to Jack Doyle, then with one out and Doyle on base, Feinberg hit his first of two home runs in the second half of the doubleheader, driving in two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Bauer followed up by walking Goodman to pave the way for another two-run homer, this time from Matt Brinker.
Doyle continued to round the bases in the fifth inning when he sent baserunner Carmelo Musacchia for the first of four runs scored in an inning for the second time in game two. With Bauer still on the mound into the fifth inning, the struggling starter gave up the second three-run homer of the doubleheader to Goodman, this time driving in Feinberg and Doyle.
Danny Kelleher pitched a clean sixth inning but left the game for Nick Gallello, who gave up another home run to Feinberg in the seventh inning for the Huskies’ final run. Following Gallello’s fluke of a given-up home run, Mike Sweeney also pitched a clean inning, this time shutting Northeastern down in the eighth inning.
Hofstra closed their weekend against Northeastern on Sunday, April 13. The first pitch was set for 1 p.m. at Friedman Diamond.
