By Kevin Carroll — SPORTS EDITOR
The Hofstra baseball team snapped an eight-game losing streak in dramatic fashion, as Max Dolente’s RBI single in the 11th was the catalyst for a 3-1 Hofstra victory over the New York Institute of Technology on Tuesday at Lorenzo Field.
Dolente came through when it mattered most for the Pride, coming off the bench to pinch-hit for Nick Bottari and knocking a pitch from NYIT’s Chris Johnson into right field, scoring Kevin O’Connor to put the Pride ahead 2-1.
The rally was set up in the top half of the 11th by back-to-back singles from Vito Friscia and Mat Annuziata to lead off the inning. A sacrifice bunt from David Leiderman moved the runners over, setting the table for Dolente to drive in O’Connor, who was pinch-running for Friscia.
The Pride added a much-needed insurance run on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Tom Archer to make it a 3-1 game.
Chris Bonk came on to close it out for the Pride in the bottom of the 11th, forcing a double play to end the game, notching his first save of the season.
The extra-innings contest was highlighted by terrific pitching performances from both teams. John Rooney made the first start of his career for Hofstra, and he certainly made the most of it, throwing five scoreless innings, only allowing two hits while striking out seven.
On the other side, NYIT’s Matt Diaz and Timothy Mulligan combined to hold the Pride scoreless through the first five innings.
The Bears cracked the game open in the sixth, with Ryan Fiato knocking in a run off of the Pride’s Bowie Matteson. Ryan Karl had the answer for Hofstra in the eighth, leading off the inning with a homer to tie the game at 1.
The home run was Karl’s second of the season.
Neither team could score in the ninth, forcing extra innings. It was the third extra-innings game for the Pride this season, and the first in which Hofstra was able to pick up the victory.
Adam Heidenfelder (1-3) threw two innings of scoreless relief to get the win for the Pride. It is Heidenfelder’s first win in a Hofstra uniform. Chris Johnson (1-2) took the loss for the Bears.
Friscia had two hits for Hofstra, the only multi-hit game of the day for the Pride.
For NYIT, Robert Fiato had three hits, and Louis Mele and Anthony Caradonna added two each.
The Pride improves to 6-18 on the season, while the Bears fall to 10-13.
The Pride will be in action on Wednesday, staying on the road to take on Fairfield University at 3 p.m.
