The Hofstra University baseball team opened their series against Monmouth University with a doubleheader split on Friday, May 8, winning the first game 7-3 and taking a 5-2 loss in game two.
Following the doubleheader, Hofstra sat at 18-25 overall and 12-14 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play, while Monmouth sat at 26-20 on the season and 17-9 in CAA play. While the Pride remained in the fourth spot, the Hawks were in an automatic-bid position in the CAA North Division for the conference tournament in the second spot.
Carlos Martinez got the start in the earlier game of the twin bill, pitching the Pride’s third complete game in three weekends despite the team’s first nine-inning complete game of the season. Taking his fourth win of the season, Martinez gave up three runs on seven hits and struck out 10 batters, fanning double-digit batters for the second time this season.
“We were going to take [Martinez] out after the seventh, and he wouldn’t let me,” said Hofstra head coach Frank Catalanotto. “He wanted to stay in [the game]. I went up to him after the eighth inning and said, ‘Alright, that’s it,’ and he said, ‘No, I want to finish this game.’ He had his confidence, he had his stuff, he was getting ahead throwing strikes – that’s vintage [Martinez].”
The Pride attacked early, recording a run in each of the first two innings. The Hawks mirrored the spacing of Hofstra’s first pair of runs after Chris Walsh and Nick Lovarco homered in the third and fourth innings, respectively. An explosive bottom of the fourth against Monmouth starter Ryan Mealy proved crucial in securing a run insurance for Martinez and, ultimately, a Hofstra victory. Pride batters recorded RBI on three consecutive at-bats: a double by Tyler Castrataro and subsequent singles from JJ DeVito and Michael Brown.
“[Castrataro] has been struggling lately, and we made some mechanical adjustments with him in the batter’s box,” Catalanotto said. “It looked like it paid off. He’s a little quieter in there, not swinging wildly, and he was able to get some big hits for us.”
A scoreless fifth inning led to the Hawks scoring their final run of the first game: an RBI single by Jimmy Bruno. Castrataro responded with his own home run, plating himself and Nick Biddle in the bottom of the sixth. Castrataro led the Pride in scoring in game one with four RBIs and going 3-4.
“Hitting is contagious,” Catalanotto said. “I felt like guys were going up there, having that confidence and feeding off of what the guys in front of them were doing. It’s always good when you’re putting together good at-bats, and I feel like we strung a bunch of them together.”
Following a complete game from his ace, Catalanotto managed a bullpen game for the second game of the doubleheader. Brayden Gregg got the first start of his collegiate career. Gregg pitched a career-high 3.1 innings pitched with five strikeouts, giving up two runs on four hits.
“[Gregg] pounded the zone, threw strikes, and he looked good,” Catalanotto said. “For somebody that’s not used to starting, I feel like he did a good job and potentially deserves another chance.”
Hofstra took an early 2-0 lead after three innings. Danny Corona launched a double to deep center field to send Nick Gallello home in the bottom of the second. Gallello then recorded his own RBI, an infield hit that scored Brown. Yet, an explosive first game and running-low stamina levels plagued the Pride’s offense for the rest of the second game.
Gregg tied the game in the top of the fourth by giving up a bases-clearing double to his last batter of the game, Aidan Bretschneider. With one out and a runner on second base, Tanner Sanderoff came in to relieve Gregg and struck out the next batter; then, Biddle successfully caught Bretschneider stealing third base.
Monmouth’s bats dominated the rest of the game. In the next three innings, Hofstra’s pitchers gave up a second home run to Walsh on the day and a two-run double by Bretschneider. While Pride pitchers created lots of basepath traffic – the five Hofstra arms combined for seven walks in game two – both pitchers who inherited runners successfully stranded all their baserunners.
The Pride concluded their home slate on Sunday, May 10, facing Monmouth for a Senior Day series finale. Before the first pitch at noon, the Pride honored seven graduating seniors.
