The Hofstra University baseball team wavered in the rubber match against their first Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) series opponent, the Northeastern University Huskies, on Sunday, March 24, losing 13-5.
Hofstra continues to fall as they enter CAA play with a 7-15 overall record. Northeastern pushes their record higher, standing at 16-6.
A repeating experience for the Pride this season has been getting behind early in games, and this was no different in the series closer against the Huskies.
With Cade Henry on the mound, Northeastern decided the series in the first inning with a Mike Sirota RBI single followed by an Alex Lane two-RBI double to rack up the score to 3-0 quickly. Justin Bosland and Carmelo Musacchia padded their lead by scoring on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly to pull an early 5-0 lead.
Hofstra answered in the bottom half by putting runners on the base paths. While Steve Harrington tried to steal second, Dylan Palmer broke for home and scored their first, 5-1.
Henry’s day finished after the second with a 0-2 record on the season. He allowed six runs off four hits with only three strikeouts in 1.2 innings pitched.
After the fourth, Northeastern added two more runs while Hofstra’s Will Kennedy doubled in the third, the Pride now behind 7-3 entering the fourth inning.
With Jake DesLauriers now in the game for Hofstra, Northeastern trampled the Pride, scoring three runs off a single and two bases-loaded walks for a 10-3 score. Another pitching change brought in Danny Kelleher, but the Huskies continued to keep their foot on the Pride’s neck, scoring another run on a sac fly.
Luke Masiuk homered against his old team in the fifth, but that would be the last run Hofstra put across in the series finale. Northeastern put the cherry on top in the eighth with a Luke Beckstein single, ending the game with a score of 13-5.
Wyatt Scotti was awarded the win with a deep performance for Northeastern, going the distance in 6.0 innings pitched and allowing five runs on seven hits with three strikeouts. Aiven Cabral closed the game out by pitching the last three innings, similarly to Hofstra in the first game of the series.
In the loss, Steve Harrington led the team at the plate, going 2-4 with Kennedy and Masiuk both having two RBIs in the game.
Hofstra starts their CAA standings on the year at 1-2 as the season continues to tick by. The Pride will stay in Hempstead awaiting their next matchup against the Seton Hall University Pirates on Tuesday, March 26, with the first pitch at 3 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Alexis Friedman
