On Sunday, March 31, the Hofstra University baseball team lost their second Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) series against the Towson University Tigers, 10-8.
The Pride surrendered a comfortable 5-1 lead in the fifth inning as the Tigers completed a major comeback against Hofstra to snatch the series away. Towson did strike first off Hofstra’s starting pitcher Steven Kaenzig as Bryce Frederick took Kaenzig deep in the third inning to start the scoring with a 1-0 lead.
Kaenzig combatted the third-inning home run and pitched a well-versed game, only giving up three runs on three hits in 4.1 innings pitched for the Pride.
While Kaenzig held the Tigers down, Hofstra tacked on more runs to add a sizable lead ahead of them. Against Towson pitchers Max Simpson and Ryder Jeske, the top of the Pride’s lineup piled on four runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
Will Kennedy and Alex McCoy doubled and Dylan Palmer singled while Kennedy again drew in a walk to take a 5-1 lead by the end of the fifth inning.
The Tigers then clawed back in the bottom halves of the fifth and sixth innings to tie the game at 6-6. Frederick went 3-4 from the batter’s box with three RBIs in the game, making him a big contributor to the Tiger’s come-from-behind win.
Towson took that momentum and completely overtook the Pride with a double and single from Jordan Peyton and Taye Robinson in the seventh for an 8-6 score. Peyton came through again with another single, capping the Towson score at 10 in the eighth.
Sean Lane and Palmer tried to come back from the three-run deficit in the eighth and ninth innings, contributing two runs coming off two doubles to make the score 10-8.
Jordan Luton came in and closed the game and series for Towson with a 10-8 win over Hofstra.
In their second weekend CAA series thus far, Hofstra has gotten off to a rocky start with a 2-4 record in conference play. They have not won a series yet and sits at 10-17 overall.
Towson is no better, with the same 2-4 clip in the CAA and only seven wins on the season. However, they displayed a well-played series against Hofstra this weekend. Peyton dazzled from the middle of the lineup for Towson, finishing with three RBIs and three hits on the day.
In their losing efforts, Hofstra contributed eight runs off eight hits with Palmer slugging 3-5 with three RBIs. Kennedy also shined with three RBIs of his own.
Penn Sealey received the loss for his efforts in the game. He came in for one inning of work, blowing the gates open for Towson in the late innings. He finished with no strikeouts and gave up two earned runs off four hits.
Hofstra will next travel to Rutgers University for a non-conference matchup on Tuesday, April 2, with the first pitch at 3 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Rob Cuni
