A walk-off single from Santino Rosso in the eleventh propelled the Hofstra University baseball team over the University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens 5-4 on Saturday, April 6.
“It was a good game,” said Hofstra head coach Frank Catalanotto. “We needed this game badly, and I thought Carlos Martinez pitched a great game. I was proud of those guys scratching those two extra runs in the eighth inning, I though those were huge. Obviously a little disappointed we gave up those runs in the ninth. Our team showed resilience and came back. Santino [Rosso] had a huge hit to win the game, so I’m proud of these guys.”
In the ninth, Delaware hit a leadoff double to put Brett Lesher on second, followed by another double down the left field line from Chris Dengler putting Delaware within two, 4-2.
Lesher came around to score on a wild pitch and Bryce Greenly shot a single through the left side, tying the game at 4.
“[McKenna] has struggled his last few times out [on the mound],” Catalanotto said. “We’ll have to reassess, see how he’s feeling; if he’s healthy, look back at the games and figure out why he is not being as effective as he’s been.”
With a tie game in extras, Ryan McLaughlin came in relief to stave off the Fightin’ Blue Hens. McLaughlin finished the day with three strikeouts and one hit in two innings pitched, coming up big for the Pride.
“He was outstanding,” Catalanotto said. “For a freshman, it was impressive for him. Russell Hunter I thought also pitched a couple of really good innings today.”
Now in the eleventh, Matt Pelcher started the inning off with a single, putting a runner on the base paths. A wild pitch put runners in scoring position, setting up Rosso at the plate for his heroic walk-off single to keep the series alive.
Although he had the last hit, it was Rosso’s only hit in five at-bats today.
“Not [an] ideal start to the day,” said infielder Santino Rosso, who went 0-4 before knocking down his walk-off base hit. “We just tried to stay focused [and] keep our mind on the goal which is winning the game. When I got up in that spot, I knew I had a chance to do it, so any way possible I wanted to get the job done.”
Carlos Martinez started the game for the Pride and continues an impressive stretch on the mound. Martinez allowed four guys and no runs in 5.1 innings pitched.
“He’s been outstanding, pounding the zone; gets a lot of strikeouts and doesn’t walk a lot of hitters,” Catalanotto said. “The thing that I noticed the last few outings is confidence. He seems confident on the mound, whereas last year and the first few starts this year he wasn’t that confident. His stuff is working, his slider is really good, and he’s getting those strikeouts, which are huge.”
All the scoring came late in the game with Hofstra taking a 4-1 lead after the eighth inning, including Harrington’s RBI triple that traveled down the right-field line.
“I feel like Steve [Harrington] and even [Will] Kennedy are two of our better hitters, and they’re starting to heat up,” Catalanotto said. “Early in the season, they struggled, and now I feel like they’ve got their feet under them, and they feel good at the plate, they’re confident at the plate. It’s really good to see Steve have some good at-bats and have some success.”
The Pride now plays the rubber match game on Sunday, April 7, to try and give themselves their first Coastal Athletic Association series win of the season. The first pitch from University Field is at noon.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Alexis Friedman
