The Hofstra University baseball team avoided a series sweep with a 5-3 win over the North Carolina A&T State University Aggies (NC A&T), bringing their overall record to 8-15 and 3-6 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play.
In the win, Kevin Bruggeman, Will Kennedy and Steve Harrington all had two-hit games. Bruggeman was the only player in this contest with multiple RBIs, having earned three.
Brian Morrell got the scoring going in the second inning by reaching on a fielding error by Aggies shortstop Sabin Roane. Bruggeman knocked in his first of three runs with a scorching double that split the left and center fielders of NC A&T, scoring Morrell. Harrington singled to right field on a 1-0 count, scoring Bruggeman from second and giving Hofstra a 2-0 lead.
With one out in the top of the third inning, freshman sensation Dylan Palmer singled to center field on a 1-1 count. With two outs in the inning after a strikeout from Santino Rosso, Palmer went from first to third on a single from Kennedy to center. Kennedy advanced to second after Morrell worked a five-pitch walk to load the bases. Bruggeman added two more RBIs to his total with his second double of the afternoon down the left field line, scoring Palmer and Kennedy, while Morrell advanced to third. The Pride led 4-0 after three innings of baseball.
The bats stayed hot for Hofstra as the team tacked another run on the board in the fifth inning. Palmer started the successful inning with a five-pitch walk. A single from Rosso to center field advanced Palmer to third, setting up runners on corners with nobody out for Kennedy. Kennedy was in attack mode and swung at the first pitch he saw, resulting in a fly out to right field that lacked the depth to score Palmer from third. With one out, Morrell hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Palmer from third, giving the Pride a commanding 5-0 lead.
The Aggies got themselves on the board in the seventh inning thanks to Cort Maynard, who led the inning off with a single through the left side of the infield. Following the base hit, Camden Jackson landed a triple down the right field line to put Maynard across home plate. The sophomore catcher for A&T knocked in Jackson from third with a sacrifice fly to center field, cutting the five-run deficit to three and trailing 5-2 after seven innings of baseball.
Brad Camarda surrendered only two runs and four hits in seven innings along with four strikeouts. His record improves to 1-1 and his ERA lowered to 9.83. Camarda also reached the century mark for the second time this season, eclipsing 100 pitches in each of his last two starts.
Not only did Bruggeman go 2-4 from the dish with three RBIs, but he also managed to throw out the Aggies’ speedy center fielder T.J. Ash for trying to steal second base in the third inning.
Michael O’Hanlon recorded his fourth save of the season after his six-out save on Sunday. He surrendered one run, two hits and one hit batter in two innings of work while striking out two.
The Pride return to Long Island for a rivalry matchup against the Stony Brook University Seawolves on Friday, March 31. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Dale Sparks
