By Anders Jorstad and Jean Pierre Guzhnay - STAFF WRITERS
Coming off of an unsuccessful series in Los Angeles, the Hofstra Pride men’s baseball team was swept at the hands of 11th-ranked UCLA. This time, the Pride had a lot to prove in a five-game series in Hawaii against the Rainbow Warriors, and got off on the right foot with a close 3-2 victory in the series opener.
GAME ONE
Toeing the rubber for the Pride was starting pitcher Alec Eisenburg, who was making his first start of the season after a rocky relief outing in the first game of the series. Eisenburg was looking to improve on a sophomore campaign in 2014 that saw him allow a 7.50 ERA in 36 innings, walking 18 while striking out just 21 batters.
The Pride had a rough go of it in the bottom of the first when two Hawaii batters reached base on a fielders’ choice and a fielding error, and then advanced on a wild pitch. Eisenburg won a tough seven-pitch battle against Alex Sawelson for a strikeout that got him out of the jam.
The game remained scoreless until the top of the third inning, when a bases-loaded ground-out by Hofstra left fielder Mat Anunziata equaled a 1-0 lead. In the fifth inning, Hofstra scored two more runs on a Brad Witkowski sacrifice fly and a throwing error by Hawaii catcher Chayce Ka’aua that allowed Steven Foster to score from second on a steal attempt to give the Pride a 3-0 lead.
Eisenburg pitched a solid five innings, allowing no runs on three strikeouts and two walks on 72 total pitches until being relieved by Bowie Matteson in the sixth. In the eighth, with runners on first and third for the Rainbow Warriors, a beneficial ground-out by Kaeo Alliviado scored the first run for Hawaii followed by a wild pitch that allowed Jacob Sheldon-Collins to score from third to make it 3-2 Pride.
Kevin Weissheier pitched a clean ninth inning for the Pride and closed the game out to give Hofstra its first victory of the season on a score of 3-2. Just as expected, small ball was the name of the game for the Pride, who scored on a ground-out, a fly-out and a wild pitch.
GAME TWO
Unfortunately, the Pride did not see the same kind of success in the second game of the series, as the Hawaii offense came alive in the second game, ultimately leading to a 7-4 Rainbow Warriors victory.
Senior pitcher Brian MacDonald took the hill for Hofstra for his first start of the season, following a successful junior campaign that saw him put up a 3.48 ERA in limited work.
MacDonald looked shaky to start, as he allowed a walk to the second batter he faced followed by a single to the number-three hitter. A hit batsman later and the bases were loaded with just one out. That’s when the inning imploded on MacDonald. On a 2-0 count, Hawaii first baseman Eric Ramirez lined a double down the right field line to plate two runners. The situation only got worse from there as designated hitter Jordan Richartz singled on the very next pitch to score the runner from third base to make it 3-0 Rainbow Warriors in the first inning. A ground-out by the next batter made it 4-0 and that score would hold until the top of the sixth inning.
Hofstra, looking to chip into the sizable lead, put a rally together when a Dalton Rouleau walk and a Steven Foster single set up runners at first and third with just one out. Pride second baseman Brad Witkowski doubled on the first pitch of the at-bat against Hawaii starter Tyler Brashears to score Rouleau from third, 4-1 Hawaii. Mat Anunziata followed up with a sacrifice fly, to cut the deficit to 4-2.
Two more scores in the top of the ninth would prove to be too little too late for the Pride as Hawaii had already stretched the lead at that point for a final score of 7-4. It was a rocky first start for MacDonald, who struggled with pitch efficiency by throwing 80 pitches in just 5 total innings.
GAME THREE
Hofstra’s offense heated up in the third meeting between the Pride and the Rainbow Warriors, winning the game by a score of 6-5.
Junior Chris Bonk started for the Pride. Bonk is a transfer student from Garden City Community College in Kansas who made his second career appearance as a member of the team. Bonk pitched tremendously, holding Hawaii scoreless until the Pride could string together some runs in the sixth inning.
Already up 2-0 heading into the sixth thanks to RBI singles by Steven Foster (third inning) and Chris Weiss (fourth inning), Hofstra opened up the sixth inning with runners on first and third and just one out. Third baseman David Leiderman laced a single into center field to score Foster from third base and give the Pride a 3-0 lead.
After that, the game fell apart for Hawaii, who allowed a triple to Pride designated hitter Mat Annunziata, which scored both runners. After that, a wild pitch allowed Annunziata to score from third and the Pride gained a comfortable 6-0 lead heading into the seventh inning.
Hofstra’s pitching staff did a very good job of keeping Hawaii off the board, allowing just one run in the first eight innings. Senior reliever Kevin Weissheier entered the ninth inning protecting a 6-1 Pride lead and was a little wild out of the gates, plunking the second batter and later throwing a wild pitch that scored a runner from third. Hawaii leadoff hitter Stephen Ventimilla doubled in two more runs to bring the Rainbow Warriors within two runs at 6-4. Weissheier was quickly replaced by junior Brendan Mulligan. With two runners in scoring position and just one out, Mulligan was tasked with the tough job of keeping both runners from scoring. Hawaii pinch hitter Chayce Ka’aua grounded out, scoring the runner from third and advancing the runner from second, cutting the lead to 6-5. With a chance to tie the game, Hawaii’s number-three hitter came to the plate ready to do some damage. However, it was Mulligan who won the battle, striking out Aliviado to secure a close 6-5 Pride victory.
Pride freshman center fielder Steven Foster was the star of the game, collecting four hits in four trips to the plate to spark Hofstra’s offense against the Rainbow Warriors. Foster is proving himself to be an excellent table-setter and could be an important piece of Hofstra’s future.
While the Pride bullpen made the game very close, the offensive prowess displayed by Hofstra allowed the team to win a closely-contested game on the road. The sooner Hofstra can discover a reliable set-up man and closer, the more likely the Pride will be able to compete in a tough CAA this year.
GAMES FOUR & FIVE
The Hofstra Pride finished their five-game series with a double-header loss on Saturday. The Pride was unable to turn the series around after losing the opener (8-2), and finishing the nightcap with a (9-3) loss at Les Murakami Stadium.
In the opener, after just two innings, Hawaii was leading 6-0 after Kaeo Aliviado from the Rainbow Warriors connected for a two-run homer in the first inning.
Hawaii starting pitcher LJ Brewster kept the Pride at bay with 97 total pitches allowing Hofstra just two runs on six hits.
The two runs came in the seventh inning when the Pride loaded the bases and Eric Ferguson managed a two-out, two-run single. Ferguson, David Leiderman and Mat Annunziata also had two hits each for Hofstra in the game.
In the second game of the double header, the Pride started off strong with a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the nightcap. Dalton Rouleau led off with a double and went to third on a single from Ferguson.
However, the lead would not last, as the warriors managed seven runs in the third inning, including an inspired Aliviado three-run home run to put the Warriors ahead 3-2.
The Rainbow Warriors would continue their scoring spree, as Alan Baldwin had a two-run single, while JJ Kitaoka and Stephen Ventimilia also managed to have run-scoring singles. Hawaii would add to the scoreboard with another run in the fourth and one in the sixth.
The Pride looked set to make the comeback after loading the bases in the sixth inning, but only managed one run.
Hofstra starter Nick Kozlowski (0-2) lasted 2 1/3 innings and was charged with all seven runs (five earned) on four hits and four walks. Leiderman, Rouleau, Ryan Donovan and Ferguson each went 2-4 in game two.
Kyle von Ruden (1-0) picked up the win for Hawaii after allowing three runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. Baldwin finished the game with two 3-3 and two RBIs, while Aliviado had a double and home run for the Rainbow Warriors.
The Pride is back on the road next weekend, traveling to VMI for a three-game series starting Saturday as they look to improve their 2-6 record after falling to Hawaii.
