By Rob Pelaez — STAFF WRITER
After a slow 0-7 start for the Hofstra baseball team’s season, the offense caught fire in a doubleheader against the Coppin State Eagles, winning the first game 17-4 and the second 17-0. The victories were not only the Pride’s first two on the year, but it was also skipper John Russo’s 100th victory as head coach John Russo. The Hofstra squad certainly made this a day to remember for Russo, scoring a combined 34 runs in the doubleheader.
The first game was highlighted by a eight-run fourth inning for the Pride, which saw a two RBI single for Tom Archer and a monster two-run bomb by David Leiderman that gave Hofstra a 9-0 lead. The Pride tacked on another eight runs and Leiderman had himself a game as well, going 3-6 at the plate and three RBIs.
As for the pitching, Chris Weiss (1-1) had plenty of run support, and had a decent outing, pitching five innings, allowing four runs on five hits to go along with three strikeouts. Mundy and Cillis took care of the last four innings, closing the door on the Eagles batters with just two hits and three strikeouts. Even when the Eagles’ hitting seemed to start chipping away at the lead, Hofstra kept their foot on the gas and didn’t let Coppin State get anywhere near their lead.
The second game was more or less the same as the first one. Alec Eisenberg (1-2) pitched a gem for the Pride, throwing six strong innings of three-hit ball with six strikeouts as well. As for Coppin State, Hofstra’s bats were yet again ready for the challenge, and they proved it when they rocked Eagles’ pitcher Andrew O’Dwyer for 10 runs off of seven hits in just 4 1/3 innings.
Infielder Brad Witkowski had only one hit in this contest, but it certainly busted down the wall quickly for Hofstra’s offense to start taking control of the game, launching a three-run blast to the stands, and gave Hofstra a 6-0 lead in the fourth inning.
An inning later, DH Nick Bottari played the same game as Witkowski, sending his own three-run homer out of the stadium, to make it a 9-0 game and basically put the proverbial nail into the coffin.
For Hofstra, games like these two were exactly what the doctor ordered for the Pride to shake off the early season rust. With upcoming games at West Point and Longwood University, the Pride will look to keep the offense moving in the right direction heading into the heart of the season.
And while coach John Russo is certainly pleased with becoming the fourth coach in program history with 100 wins, he can only hope he has another 100 on their way very soon, and that quest begins Sunday March 6, at 3 p.m. as the Eagles and the Pride finish off the season series.
