By Danny Powell
The Pride may have lost its best opportunity to make a run at the Colonial Athletic Association tournament this past weekend. Sitting four spots out of the postseason and taking on a James Madison team that was dead-last in the conference entering the weekend, Hofstra was in desperate need of a sweep. Instead the Pride dropped two of three in Virginia and now find themselves in the conference cellar with a Herculean task if they are to somehow reach their goal of a conference tourney.
The series got off to an ugly start on Friday. The Pride had opened up a 5-2 lead by the middle of the third inning but the Dukes tacked on seven runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 9-5 lead. There was no looking back from there as JMU added five runs in the fourth to extend the lead to 14-5 and then went on to score seven more to take a commanding 21-5 lead into the ninth inning. The Pride did manage to scratch out three meaningless runs in the top of the ninth but in the end it was a 21-8 rout and things were not looking good for the Pride.
The Dukes came out swinging in the second game and took an early 2-0 edge with a two-run home run off the bat of designated hitter Lee Bujakowski in the bottom of the first. The Pride answered back though, and took a small lead with a three run rally in the top of the fifth. The see-saw battle continued as the Dukes took back the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fifth only to watch the Pride get an RBI double from junior Felix Adamkiewicz, and a pair of run-scoring singles from sophomore Chris Mentrasti and senior Dave Cole to take a 6-5 lead in the sixth.
The Pride opened up the lead a bit more in the top of the seventh as freshman Matt Prokopowicz, senior Andy Campana, and sophomore Nick Panzarella each knocked in runs to increase the lead to 9-5. Senior pitcher Charlie Frago could not hold the lead, however, as the Dukes battled back with for runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie the score at nine. Two big errors and a fielder’s choice gave the Pride a slim one run advantage in the top of the ninth and that was all relief pitcher Will DeVito would need. The senior shut the door and earned the win by giving up no runs on two hits in one and one-third innings out of the bullpen.
With the series tied up at a game a piece going into Sunday’s finale, Hofstra jumped out to an early lead behind a two-run homer by junior first basemen Matt Kougasian in the top of the first. The Pride extended the lead with three more runs in the top of the third but JMU answered back with a three-run homer by shortstop Davis Stoneburner to trim the deficit to 5-3.
The Pride put up three runs in the fifth inning, including Kougasian’s second two-run blast of the day and a solo home run from freshman leftfielder John Kenny, to increase the margin to 8-3. It would not stay that way for long however, as the Dukes exploded for six runs in the bottom half of the inning with catcher Dan Santobianco capping off the inning with a three-run home run that gave James Madison a 9-8 lead. The Dukes ran away with the game from there, scoring seven more runs, including six in the seventh inning, to make it a 16-8 blow out of the Pride.
The Pride returned home in last place at 7-13 in the conference (15-27 overall), three games out of the sixth and final postseason spot. If the Pride is going to make the tourney, they must leapfrog at least five teams and do so while playing strong teams. All of the Pride’s remaining nine conference games are against teams that are .500 or better in the CAA this season.
The Pride’s next match-up is a three-game home series against Virginia Commonwealth this weekend. The Rams are 10-7 and tied for second in the CAA. The series will start Friday at 3:00 p.m.
Senior Andy Campana is one of a few bright spots for the Pride this year.