No. 24 West Virginia stalled by Hofstra pitching

The Hofstra University baseball team marched into Morgantown, WV, and upset the No. 24 West Virginia University (WVU) by a final score of 4-2 at Wagner Field at Magnolia County Ball Park on Tuesday, March 21. 

The Mountaineers scraped across two runs in the first inning off of Hofstra starter Cade Henry but couldn’t do any more damage as the Pride’s right-hander shut down one of the best offenses in the Big 12  for the remainder of his five-inning outing. Despite throwing two wild pitches and hitting a batter early, Henry settled in and earned the win, striking out four batters while giving up five hits and two walks. 

Once Henry was pulled to begin the sixth inning, relievers Steven Kaenzig Mike McKenna and the ever-animated Michael O’Hanlon carried the Pride the rest of the way. In the bottom of ninth, O’Hanlon worked himself into trouble by loading the bases before facing WVU catcher Dayne Leonard with two outs. 

In a battle of an at-bat, the Hofstra closer came out on top, striking out Leonard swinging on a fastball up in the zone, pounding his chest in triumph as he picked up his third save of the season. 

Hofstra did its damage in the middle innings. In the third, designated hitter Dylan Palmer drove in his sixth run of a season with a single through the left side to make it a 2-1 game. Then, in the Pride’s next turn at the plate, right fielder Brian Morrell fought through a six-pitch at-bat before smashing a double to right center field that plated Ryan Morash from second base to tie the score. 

A couple of innings later, UVW starter Aidan Major collected two quick outs but then let up a single to Will Kennedy and a free pass to Morell, who he had down in the count 0-2. In the following at-bat, Kevin Bruggeman punched a single to left field that gave Hofstra the lead as Kennedy scored on the hit, while Morrell went first to third before touching the plate as a result of a throwing error.

Hofstra will look to steal two games from UVW as the schools conclude the brief two-game series on Wednesday, March 22, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. After that, the Pride will travel south to face Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) foe North Carolina A&T (NC A&T) for a three-game set starting on Friday, March 24. 

Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Dale Sparks