The Hofstra University baseball team played an unlucky season finale on Saturday, May 16, taking a 23-0 mercy-rule loss against Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) North Division foe Stony Brook University. The Pride gave up 16 of their 18 hits in the first two frames.
With the loss, Hofstra ended the season with a 20-27 overall record and a 14-16 record in CAA play. Stony Brook ended the season 21-30 overall and 13-17 against CAA opponents. The Pride and Seawolves hold the third and fourth spots in the CAA North Division, respectively. Four pitchers contributed to the Pride’s early-game run deficit as all 23 of the Seawolves’ runs came in the first two innings. Brayden Gregg got his second start of his collegiate career, but he only pitched 0.2 innings. Gregg was responsible for all seven of Stony Brook’s first inning runs, giving up a two-run homer, an RBI double and a pair of RBI singles. Russell Hunter came in with two runners in scoring position and gave up two unearned runs that were attributed to Gregg on a fielding error by third baseman Sam Leonard.
Coming into the second inning, Hunter struggled to record an out, giving up a second two-run home run for the Seawolves and leaving runners on the corners for Chris Bedford. Bedford issued a pair of runs to Hunter’s line on a two-run single and gave up his own four earned runs. It wasn’t until Reno Spagnoli, the third pitcher of the half-inning, played, that Hofstra recorded back-to-back outs – a swinging strikeout to Johnny Pilla and a flyout to James Schaffer. But ultimately, Spagnoli gave up a three-run homer, which was the last scoring play of the game. Spagnoli ended the inning on a strikeout looking to Chanz Doughty.
Hofstra got their only hit of the game in the top of the fifth, a single to the shortstop by Michael Craig. Only three other Pride batters reached first base, all on walks: CJ Griggs in the top of the first, Danny Corona in the top of the fifth and Giovanni Bausone in the top of the seventh.
After all CAA games were completed, Hofstra clinched a spot in the conference tournament as the No. 5 seed. They join CAA North winners Northeastern University and Monmouth University, CAA South winners Campbell University and College of Charleston and fellow at-large bid UNC-Wilmington in the six-team field. They opened tournament play against No. 4 Charleston on Wednesday, May 20. First pitch was set for noon.
