Despite a valiant effort from their shorthanded pitching staff, the Hofstra baseball team’s non-conference woes continued on Tuesday, April 4, as the Pride dropped a 5-0 decision to the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights at Bainton Field in Piscataway, NJ.
Hofstra now holds a 1-9 record against non-conference opponents on the road this season, with six such games remaining on their schedule. The Pride’s overall record fell to 10-17 with the loss, while the Scarlet Knights improved to 15-13 overall and 14-11 out of conference with the win.
After a productive series at the plate against Stony Brook University, the Hofstra bats struggled mightily with the jump to Big Ten arms as the Scarlet Knights handed the Pride their second shutout loss of the season. Junior lefthander Justin Sinibaldi allowed just five baserunners over five scoreless innings on an efficient 59 pitches. The Rutgers bullpen didn’t make things much easier on the Pride, striking out five hitters over four scoreless frames to complete the shutout. Hofstra created several opportunities with runners on base but grounded into four double plays, killing each rally.
Despite the loss, freshman sensation Dylan Palmer once again proved to be a bright spot for the offense, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. The Hofstra leadoff man is now batting .400 with 14 runs batted in thus far.
As a result of that Stony Brook series, the Pride entered Tuesday’s contest with an exhausted pitching staff and had to opt for a bullpen game. Despite the lack of available arms, the trio of Penn Sealey, John Mikolaicyk and Steven Kaenzig held the Scarlet Knight offense to just two runs over the first seven innings of play.
However, the Rutgers offense jumped on the Pride early, scratching runs across in the second and third innings with RBI singles from Chris Brito and Evan Sleight. Despite being held to just eight hits, the Rutgers lineup worked productive at-bats and made the Hofstra staff work overtime by drawing eight walks. Hofstra arms threw a whopping 146 pitches, compared to 101 from the Scarlet Knights. Overall, the contest saw nine different Scarlet Knights reach base, with five different hitters driving in a run.
The Pride will resume their Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) schedule on Friday, April 7, as they travel south for a weekend series with the College of Charleston Cougars. That trip will be followed up with a return to non-conference play, as the St. John’s Red Storm visit Hempstead on Tuesday, April 11.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Dale Sparks
