The Hofstra University baseball team stole game two against the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks 5-2 on Saturday, May 11, setting up a rubber match game three for the series finale. The Seahawks are currently the top team in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA).
Steve Harrington imploded for three RBIs with a two-run home run in the fourth inning setting up the Pride on the base paths.
Carlos Martinez continues his phenomenal stretch of pitching against CAA teams. Since his start against Northeastern University on March 22, Martinez has established a 4.45 ERA this season, solidifying himself as the number two starter in the rotation.
Martinez shut down UNCW, tallying six strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched allowing one run on four hits now sustaining a 5-4 record on the season.
Martinez and UNCW’s RJ Sales went head-to-head at the start of the game, but Hofstra got on the board in the fourth inning. Harrington started the scoring with his two-run blast toward right-center to give the Pride a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom half, the Seahawks retaliated with a Tanner Thach solo home run, cutting the lead to 2-1.
Hofstra unraveled in the sixth and seventh innings, starting with a Matt Pelcher RBI to the stat sheet with a single adding to the lead of 3-1. In the seventh, Hofstra added more insurance runs with another Harrington RBI with a sac fly and Luke Masiuk ripping a single to put five runs on the board in the seventh for a 5-1 score.
Trying to complete a comeback, Alec DeMartino clobbered a solo homerun to make it a 5-2 game, but Mike McKenna closed out the game in the ninth for his ninth save of the season of the season as the Pride tied the series at one game apiece.
Alongside Harrington’s three RBIs, Dylan Palmer, Pelcher and Masiuk contributed two hits each as Hofstra tallied up 12 hits through nine innings against UNCW.
Sales received the loss, pitching six innings and allowing three runs off nine hits with six strikeouts.
Both teams will now play for the series on Sunday, May 12. This is the second to last series for Hofstra as they wrap up the regular season. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Rob Cuni
