By PJ Potter — STAFF WRITER
Hofstra defeated UMass Lowell in the bottom of the ninth in unusual fashion on Monday. The Pride was down 5-4 heading into the final inning, when UMass Lowell’s Steve Xirinachs loaded the bases on a walk and two hit batters. In the next plate appearance, senior Eric Ferguson drove in the tying run after being hit in the arm.

Tim Fallon then came on to pitch for the River Hawks against Hofstra’s Jake Fallon. On the first offering, Tim Fallon threw a wild pitch, heading to the backstop. Pinch-runner Jesse Russo ran for home plate and scored the winning run for the Pride.

Freshman pitcher Adam Heidenfelder looked to earn his first career college win, but finished the game with the no decision. Heidenfelder tossed five complete innings, striking out six batters while only allowing two runs, improving his earned run average to 10.00 after two rough starts.

The Pride pitching staff did well in eight innings, surrendering two runs and setup a 4-2 lead until the ninth inning rolled around.  Hofstra’s relief pitcher Brendan Mulligan let three runs go by to let Lowell lead by one run in the ninth.

Brian MacDonald was credited with the win, though only throwing one-third of an inning in the top of the ninth. He struggled with control throwing three walks and a wild pitch before getting a groundout to end the inning.

Steven Foster, David Leiderman, and Chris Weiss each had two hits in the game. Weiss and Leiderman crossed home plate and Foster drove in one RBI against the River Hawks.