By Mark Walters
In a series that provoked the Pride coaching staff to decorate the locker room doorway with NCAA Division 1 rankings for team offensive statistics, adorned with red lettering, calling the team out and challenging players to step up and make changes, Hofstra did not respond accordingly.
It just didn’t go our way. We need to, as a team, start hitting a little bit more,” senior Dave Cole said.
Conference woes continued for the Pride this past weekend in a three-game home series against George Mason. Hofstra dropped all three contests to the visiting Patriots, who scored 10 runs and struck out nine in both Saturday and Sunday’s match-ups.
Friday’s game was the closest, which the Pride lost 7-6 after relinquishing a 6-3 lead. Mason took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, only to give up six runs to Hofstra in the second. The visitors chipped away throughout the game though, and finally took the lead in the top of the ninth.
Game two featured two home runs for the Pride. After Dion Pouncil singled and reached second on a wild pitch, Matt Prokopiwicz hit him home. Then junior Adam Perlo tied the game at three in the bottom of the second with a blast to right-center. The Pride only scored once more though-in the seventh-when Prokopowicz hit a solo shot.
Mike Modica pitched a complete game for Mason, and struck out the side after giving up a double to Pouncil to end the game in the final stanza. Brody Fontaine recorded the loss for Hofstra.
In a bizarre game three that saw a rear windshield shattered in the parking lot of University Field, a line drive that knocked Patriot pitcher Dan Gerjets to the ground, and two home runs including a Pride grand slam, Hofstra could only put up five runs in the final three frames in its losing effort. Ryan Brecko earned the win for the Patriots, while Ryan Radke got the loss for the home team.
After Elliot Hagburg’s hit knocked Gerjets to the ground, he lay motionless on the ground for what seemed like 10 minutes, but eventually got up and walked to the Patriots’ dugout under his own power. He punched his glove in frustration, likely wanting to have finished the game, but the Mason coaching staff would not allow him.
“That scared the heck out of me,” Hagburg said of his line drive that hit Gerjets in the head. “He didn’t even get his glove up, so I thought I knocked him out and thought he was gonna end up unconscious. Luckily he bounced back, and I heard he actually wanted to finish the game, so he’s a tough kid,” Hagburg said.
Anthony Sarno, who hit a combined .300 on the series, went yard with the bases jammed in the seventh, providing the home team with a small spark that simply wasn’t enough.
For Hofstra, 12-25 (1-17 CAA), it was the microcosm of a frustrating and disappointing season, especially in conference play. The Patriots improved to 17-18 (11-6 CAA) and sit in third place behind UNC-Wilmington and James Madison.
While the pitching has been solid, it seems to be the offense that isn’t getting it done. In game three, Hofstra left eight runners stranded, three of which were in scoring position.
“We haven’t been capitalizing on our base running. That’s basically the story of our year,” said Pouncil.
Outfielder John Kenny, who was a combined .500 for the weekend despite a dime-sized callous on his right hand, said that this series was just like every other series, and that the team has to hit more.
“We never have those big innings, and when they do happen, we don’t have enough of them,” Kenny said.
“There’s not enough guys who are contributing on a daily basis. There’s the same one or two guys scoring runs, and we have too many strikeouts, our mechanics are poor when we get to the plate, and it just needs to be better,” Dotolo said. “It’s a little disappointing because it’s pretty much the exact same team back from last year, so it’s guys with experience just not getting it done.”
The Pride returns to action this weekend when it hosts Old Dominion in a three-game CAA series at University Field.