By David Gibb
This weekend saw the Pride baseball team take on CAA rival Old Dominion in a three-game set at home. Hofstra entered the weekend 12-27 overall with a 1-17 ledger in conference, while ODU arrived at University Field 17-28 with a record of 8-8 in the CAA.
The first game of the series saw Hofstra take a 5-4 lead, largely on the back of sophomore outfielder John Kenny’s 3-for-5 performance. Kenny doubled in the first inning, igniting a rally that saw Hofstra score four runs with senior Matt Kougasian, sophomore Matt Prokopowicz, and junior Tom Legregni driving in runs.
Old Dominion, however, had the long ball working in the game, launching back-to-back jacks in the second inning and a solo shot in the third. The dingers proved to be crucial, as the Pride’s 5-4 lead evaporated in the seventh inning. Two more home runs gave the Monarchs 10 runs, a deficit the Pride could not overcome.
Game two saw another late-inning comeback, but this one was far more favorable for the home team. In the bottom of the ninth, trailing 7-5, the Pride kicked into gear, as Matt Prokopowicz led off the inning with a long double and was driven in by the left-handed Anthony Sarno to bring Hofstra within one run.
The Pride then used small-ball to perfection, getting two men on base and moving them over via the sacrifice bunt (executed masterfully by catcher Elliot Hagburg). A walk and a groundout followed, but then speedy outfielder David Cole tapped a ball weakly towards third. Monarch third baseman Jake McAloose fielded the ball cleanly, but bounced a throw to first that skipped past the bag, allowing the tying and winning runs to score.
The victory was a deeply meaningful one, representing the Pride’s second conference win in twenty tries. In addition to their ninth inning heroics, Prokopowicz and Cole each homered in the game, Cole’s being a grand slam.
Hofstra entered game three with a chance for a series win, which have not come easy to the Pride this year. Hofstra managed to build an early lead, going up 2-0 in the first, but the game was eerily reminiscent of the first of the series: ODU kept staying alive, never letting the Pride build a comfortably large lead.
Senior Felix Adamkiewicz crushed a ball off the left field wall in the sixth inning to give Hofstra a 4-3 lead, which would only increase. Junior lefty Nick Panzarella became the game’s hero, however, as he inherited a bases loaded jam in the seventh inning and escaped unscathed. Panzarella pitched 2.1 masterful innings to earn himself a save and the Pride a CAA series victory.
This weekend, the baseball team will journey to George State University to try and continue their conference hot streak. The Panthers are 26-16 overall with a 7-10 CAA record.