The Hofstra University baseball team exploded for 23 hits but fell short in a shootout with Elon University on Saturday, May 3. The Pride dropped the series to the Phoenix and fell to 14-33 and 4-16 in Coastal Athletic Association play.
Both teams went back and forth all afternoon with six different lead changes. Fourteen runs came across to score in the fourth inning alone as the Pride rallied back from a 13-4 deficit.
“Crazy game,” said Hofstra head coach Frank Catalanotto. “I was proud of my guys that we came back. We have to do a better job closing games out.”
Dylan Palmer had four hits in the game, raising his batting average to .379 and moving into a tie for third place in program history with his 271st career hit.
“He’s been outstanding,” Catalanotto said. “He shows up every single day ready to play. He rarely strikes out; he puts the bat on the ball, and we saw today what he can do with those four hits. He causes havoc on the bases.”
Jackson Bauer made quick work of the first two batters he faced but Ryan Sprock picked up where he left off in the series opener, hitting a mammoth home run to dead center field for the game’s first run.
The Pride wasted little time to respond during their first turn at-bat. Palmer led off the inning with an infield single and Michael Brown dropped a bloop single into left field before CJ Griggs tied the game with an RBI single past a diving Will Vergantino at second base.
Hofstra took the lead on the next play when Tyler Castrataro earned an RBI on a fielder’s choice. Unfortunately for the Pride, Griggs went down with what was determined to be a broken ankle sliding into second base, eventually being carried off the field, after trying to break up the double play.
Bauer ran into quick trouble in the top of the second, giving up three runs. Charlie Granatell ended up with a leadoff triple to right field after Tanner Sanderoff – who made his first start in the field since last season – was unable to secure the fly ball on the run. Kenny Mallory Jr. tied the game with a single. Then, Justin Szestowicki took Bauer deep with a towering home run over the left field wall.
Bauer limited the damage with a strikeout of Jackson Alford as Nick Biddle caught Jake Hajdu stealing for a double play.
Palmer brought the Pride within one in the second inning, doubling to left center and bringing in Trent Jenks from first base after he beat out an infield single earlier in the inning. Brown followed it up with his second hit of the day to tie the game at 4-4.
Sprock got the best of Bauer again in the third inning, taking him deep for the second time in as many at-bats, this time outdoing himself with a blast over the tall left-center field wall to retake the lead for Elon.
Bauer’s day came to an end after allowing back-to-back singles, finishing with five earned runs on seven hits, allowing a walk and striking out one over two-plus innings.
Danny Kelleher allowed two more runs in the third off an RBI single from Mallory Jr. and a sacrifice fly from Szestowicki before escaping the inning with a beautiful diving catch in front of the mound as Hajdu tried to lay down a bunt.
The floodgates opened in the fourth, as Elon continued their offensive barrage, scoring six runs to extend their lead to 13-4. The Phoenix strung together six hits, including four off Kelleher to drive him out of the game.
The Pride scratched out a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth off Brown’s third hit of the day and a Luke Masiuk sacrifice fly, ending Elon starter Nolan Straniero’s day on the mound.
The Pride welcomed Mike Staiano with a single from Michael Craig to load the bases before Aidan Gallagher walked to bring home a run. Trent Jenks continued the Hofstra rally with an infield single that scored two runs as Vergantino tried to gun down Craig at home, but the throw was too late.
The Pride cut the lead to 13-11 off two passed balls that brought Gallagher and Jenks in, chasing Staiano from the game without recording an out. Brown’s second at-bat of the inning ended the exact same way as the first, an RBI single to score a run and bring the Pride within one as Hofstra batted around for eight runs in the inning.
After Michael Heyman shut down Elon in the top of the fifth on just eight pitches, the Pride’s bats stayed hot in the bottom of the inning. Biddle and Craig reached with singles followed Gallagher lining a double off the right field wall to tie the game. Nick Gallello capped off the Hofstra comeback with a two-RBI single to give Hofstra a 15-13 lead.
“I just told them let’s keep fighting,” Catalanotto said. “We have a bunch of freshmen [so] let’s be aggressive when at bat and not take too many pitches … Those guys were up there swinging. It’s funny. When you’re aggressive at the plate, not only do you wind up getting more hits, you see the ball better and getting more walks.”
Castrataro added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth inning, crushing a two-run homer to extend Hofstra’s lead to 17-13.
The Phoenix inched closer with a run in the seventh before going ahead again with four runs in the eighth inning off Christian Rasmussen. Szestowicki brought in two with a triple before scoring on a sacrifice ground out. Alford put the Phoenix ahead with a booming no-doubt home run to left, making the score 18-17.
The Pride couldn’t come up with another rally, going scoreless in the final three innings as Sean Lane struck out to end the game in the ninth.
“When we’re in these types of games it’s going to go back and forth, there’s going to be a lot of runs scored,” Catalanotto said. “When we get the lead, you got to have that killer instinct … we gave up some late runs for them to go ahead and take the lead again.”
The Pride finished up their series against Elon on Sunday, May 4. The first pitch was set for noon.
