By Danny Powell
It was another tough weekend for Hofstra baseball last week. Although the Pride did an outstanding job in hanging with one of the strongest teams (Virginia Commonwealth) in one of the nation’s strongest conferences (the Colonial Athletic Association) the Pride ultimately dropped two of three to the Rams and remain in 11th place in the CAA.
The three-game set opened with a thrilling game on Friday afternoon. It was a pitchers’ duel all throughout the game, as the game remained scoreless until VCU finally broke through with a run as shortstop Sergio Miranda scored on a groundout from third baseman Chris Jackson. The Rams made it 2-0 in the top of the eighth as pinch-runner M. L. Morgan came home on a passed ball.
The Pride battled back in the bottom of the eighth, though. First junior Anthony Sarno brought home freshman catcher George Carroll with a sacrifice fly to pull Hofstra within a run. Later, junior first baseman Matt Kougasian hit a big RBI-double to knot things up at two heading into the ninth inning. The score would remain tied for some time though, as the Rams turned to their wins and saves leader Luke Pisker, who was recently named to the Stopper of the Year Watch List by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Pisker shut down the Pride for three innings but Hofstra’s pitching matched him every step of the way. Senior Patrick Rogers started the game and pitched a gem, going 10.1 innings and giving up just the two runs. Freshman Drew Luedtke and senior Jeff Denlea each got an out to end a scoreless top of the 11th inning. In the 12th, it was Sarno took the hill and allowed just a walk as the score remained even at two.
The Pride ended the game in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the 12th. After Sarno hit a leadoff double, Kougasian delivered a single that advanced Sarno to third. After senior Andy Campana grounded to third, the Rams opted to intentionally walk freshman sensation Matt Prokopowicz, who is hitting .423 on the season, to pitch to sophomore centerfielder Nick Panzarella. It proved to be the wrong choice, however, as Panzarella delivered with a walk-off single up the middle to give the Pride a 3-2 extra-inning victory in the series opener.
VCU bounced back on Saturday though, as they managed to pull away to top the Pride and tie the series at a game a piece. The game was tight throughout with Kougasian leading the way for Hofstra, going 4-5 with three runs batted in. The score was 8-3 entering the ninth inning and it seemed the Pride were still within striking distance. The Rams offense exploded in the top of the ninth, however, putting up an astounding 11 runs including home runs from Miranda and sophomore catcher Carlos Rodriguez to make it an insurmountable 19-2 deficit. The Pride did score three in the bottom of the ninth, including a two-run homer by Kougasian, but VCU still ran away with a 19-5 victory, setting up a rubber match on Sunday.
The Rams came out hot again in the series finale, and took an early lead in the top of the second with a two-run single from Rodriguez. First baseman Jared Bolden made it a 3-0 VCU lead with a solo home run in the top of the sixth.
The Pride staged a come-back in the bottom of the sixth though. Campana and freshman outfielder John Kenny started the inning off with singles. Kenny came around to score and Campana advanced to third when Rodriguez attempted to pick off Campana at first and fired the ball into right field. Then it was Prokopowicz turn to shine, as he hit a RBI-single to score Campana and make it a one-run game. Prokopowicz then stole second and ultimately came around to score the tying run on a deep fly ball from Panzarella.
The Rams proved to be just too much for the Pride, however, as Miranda and second baseman Richard Gonzalez each hit RBI-singles off senior pitcher Will DeVito in the top of the eighth to give VCU a 5-3 advantage. Rams pitcher Bill Wieland made the lead stand up, as he allowed just two hits in four shut-out innings to earn the win.
The loss drops the Pride to 16-29 on the season, including 8-15 in the CAA, while the Rams improved to 26-18, including 12-8 and second place in the conference. The Pride will look to move up in the conference as they head to Georgia State University this weekend to take on the Panthers in a three-game set. The series will open with a 6 p.m. game on Friday.
