By Dan Powell
Despite looking overmatched by a talented George Mason team for much of the weekend, the Pride’s first conference series was not a total wash as Hofstra did manage to salvage the final game on Sunday to avoid a sweep.
In the first two games of the three game series, it seemed clear that the Patriots were the better team. In the opener on Friday afternoon, Mason opened up a gaping 6-0 lead with three runs in both the third and fifth innings. There was no looking back from there as after closing the deficit to 6-2, Pride pitcher Patrick Rogers surrendered back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach as Hofstra went on to lose 11-4.
Things only got worse in Game 2 of the set. The visiting Patriots jumped out to a 9-3 lead after a six-run outburst in the fourth inning and continued to pour it on from their. Mason’s junior third basemen Chris Fournier led the charge for the Patriots, hitting three home runs for five runs batted in as George Mason trounced the Pride 18-4. The Patriots seemed unstoppable as the win was their fifth in a row.
George Mason took an early 3-0 lead in the series finale as well but there was no quit in the Pride. Hofstra battled back behind a home run from freshman Matt Prokopowicz and an RBI single from junior first basemen Matt Kougasian to trim the lead to 4-2 after three innings. Mason answered back, however, and with three runs in the sixth the lead was back to a commanding 7-2.
Hofstra came back strong in the bottom half of the sixth though, with two runs of their own on an RBI ground out from catcher Tom Caltabiano and a single from sophomore centerfielder Nick Panzarella.
The Pride completed their comeback by exploding for a five-run inning in the bottom of the seventh to take a 9-7 lead over the Patriots. Senior Charlie Frago went to work and picked up the win, allowing no runs on four walks and just one hit in three and 2/3 innings of work. When the Pride gets that type of outing from one of their six senior pitchers, they can be tough to beat.
The victory improved Hofstra to 6-9 on the season and 1-2 in conference play. The biggest surprise for the Pride this season has been the strength of their line-up, which features a ton of youth. The underclassmen have played well though, as players like Prokopowicz, Panzarella, and sophomore outfielder Tony Schmitt have been huge for the Pride as each one already has more than 10 runs batted in on the young season. One could even argue that Prokopowicz has been the team’s best player, as he could be making a case for Colonial Athletic Association freshman of the year with a .451 batting average, one home run and 15 RBI on the year.
The problem thus far this season has been the team’s failure to pitch well enough to back up a surprisingly strong line-up. Hofstra has given up 10 or more runs in 10 of their 15 games early this season. The Pride’s young and inexperienced offense has been explosive, averaging over seven runs a game this season, but it is tough to ask them to put up 10 runs of more two out of every three games.
The Pride will look to put it together when they travel to Old Dominion University for a three game set with the Monarchs. The series opens Friday at 7 p.m. with a game that can be heard on WRHU.
