The Hofstra University baseball team staged an unsuccessful late-game rally to open their series against Towson University, taking a 9-6 loss on Thursday, April 2.

Hofstra dropped to 9-15 on the season and 4-6 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play. Towson improved to 12-14 overall and 3-10 in conference play.

Chris Bedford made his fifth start of the season, but his mound appearance remained brief. In 3.1 innings pitched, Bedford struggled to get through the Tigers’ batting order, allowing six runs on seven hits and walking three batters. He earned his first loss of the season.

Bedford gave Towson an early advantage of scoring, walking Keldrin Rodriguez on one out. Rodriguez advanced to second base on a sacrifice grounder from Brian Heckelman and scored on an RBI single by Max D’Alessandro.

The Pride responded in the top of the second, when Gabriel Melara hit his first home run of his Hofstra tenure, launching a solo shot to right field.

The next two inning halves were quiet, with both Bedford and Towson starter Dutch DeProspero keeping their opponents at bay.

Bedford showed signs of unease at the mound when he gave up two one-out hits and three consecutive RBIs in the third, ultimately putting Rodriguez at third base. D’Alessandro hit his second RBI single. Heckelman came in to score on a sacrifice fly from Frank Adamski Jr., then D’Alessandro scored on a single from Nich Francuzenko.

Bedford ended the inning by loading the bases on a pair of walks but stranded all the runners on a flyout to left field. JJ DeVito caught the fly ball to retire Ethan Brand. Beford’s mound appearance abruptly ended after giving up a two-run home run to Heckelman.

Jackson Bauer, who built up stamina as a starting pitcher last season, returned to the bullpen and came in for relief for the rest of the game. In 4.2 innings pitched, he gave up three runs, all earned, on nine hits.

Hofstra cut Towson’s lead to four runs on a two-out single to Tyler Cox, who drove in George Holt. The Tigers, once again, got the lead back to five runs when Josh Janove came home on a sacrifice fly by Brand. The score remained at 7-2 until Bauer gave up a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth, an RBI triple to Adamski and a single to Janove.

Hofstra drove home four runs in the top of the ninth, but the rally failed as the Pride ended with a three-run deficit behind the Tigers. Tyler Castrataro, Holt and Michael Brown each hit a single to load the bases for pinch-hitter Nate Lynn, who drove Castrataro in on a single up the left side. The new Towson bullpen pitcher, Jacob Whiteman, walked Cox to drive in Holt, then CJ Griggs hit into a double play to send home Brown.

Giovanni Bausone, who pinch ran for Lynn, scored on a wild pitch, but the game ended when Nick Gallello grounded out to Towson third baseman Brand.

The Pride faced the Tigers again on Friday, April 3. First pitch was set for 3 p.m. at John B. Schuerholz Park in Towson, Maryland.