By Dan Powell

There were no surprises in the opening to Hofstra’s baseball season, as the Pride were beaten soundly by a clearly superior Auburn team. The sweep marked the fourth consecutive time Hofstra has been swept by the Tigers.

The spring season started with a fizzle as Auburn pitchers Bryan Woodall and Brett Butts combined for a five-hit shutout in a 17-0 drubbing of the Pride. This marked the first time the Pride had been shutout on their opening day since they were white-washed by St. John’s in the 1980 opener.

Things improved on Saturday as Hofstra kept the game close behind a 4 for 4 day from sophomore shortstop Chris Mentrasti, who added a walk and three runs. Still, the effort was not good enough, as the Pride fell 11-7. Despite an early three run deficit, the Tigers were able to rally back behind catcher Josh Donaldson, who had five runs batted in for the game.

The Pride jumped out to 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on Sunday as well, but it did not last long as Auburn put up two first inning runs of their own. The Pride mounted their own comeback though, and after a RBI single by junior first baseman Andrew Sarno in the fourth inning, the Pride were on top 5-2.

The Tigers would prove to be too much to handle for the Pride the rest of the way, however, as pitchers Paul Burnside and Luke Greinke blanked Hofstra for the last five innings. Meanwhile the Auburn bats went to work, putting up eight runs on the board from the fourth inning on to sweep the Pride with a decisive 10-5 victory.

While an 0-3 record may not be what the Pride was looking for when they left for Alabama last weekend, head coach Chris Dotolo did see one advantage to opening 2007 against such a quality opponent.

“Hopefully, this kind of jump-starts our guys, playing that type of fast-pace, high-level baseball,” Dotolo said. “Our guys should be in full-swing now and ready to go for the rest of the season.”

Despite the early wake-up call, it seems likely that the Pride will not even get a sniff of their first victory of 2007 for another week and a half. Hofstra will travel to Tallahassee, Florida to take on the ninth-ranked Florida State Seminoles in a three-game set. The players seem to understand just how daunting the task at hand could prove.

“It’s tough when you face that caliber of an opponent,” senior pitcher Charlie Frago said. “You know that you can’t let up even the least bit on the mound because anyone in their line-up, one through nine, can hurt you.”

The Pride’s senior pitching staff will have to improve if the team is to have any success this season. A 13.12 earned run average is simply not going to get things done, particularly against top-notch programs such as Auburn and Florida State. The Pride’s line-up seemed lively in the Auburn series, but if the pitching does not get better, this team seems destined for defeat.