The Hofstra University baseball team delivered a game to remember, as Jake Liberatore walked off James Madison University (JMU) with a three-run home run to win the game 6-5 on Senior Day at University Field. The victory was crucial for the Pride as they now hold second place in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) standings, with slight leads over UNC-Wilmington (UNCW) and JMU.
Down 5-3 with rain starting to pour down in the bottom of the ninth, Kevin Bruggeman worked out a seven-pitch walk, and Steve Harrington followed by ripping a double down the first base line moving Bruggeman to third. After taking the first pitch for a strike, Liberatore struck the next one, sending it high and deep over the left-center field fence for his second three-run walk off in the last two weeks. It is also the sixth time Hofstra has walked off an opposing team, continuing their season long mentality of never quitting until the last out.
“We’re a confident bunch,” said Hofstra head coach Frank Catalanotto. “We’ve beaten every team in the conference, and there’s no team that scares us. So it’s nice to know that this team continues to fight and never feels like they’re out of a game. It makes my job easier.”
Senior John Mikolaicyk was on the mound to start the game for the Pride, his sixth and final start of the regular season. Mikolaicyk was solid for four innings, giving up only three hits with five strikeouts before struggling to push through the fifth, as he allowed four runs.
“I thought he was outstanding,” said Catalanotto. “You could tell that he seemed to tire a little bit, but early on when he was fresh, stuff-wise he was good.”
After Mikolaicyk’s departure, Steven Kaenzig and Aljo Sujak carried the freight for Hofstra, only allowing one run on one hit through the remaining 4.1 innings, keeping the Pride in the game.
On the other side, excluding the first two innings where the Pride picked up five hits, the JMU pitchers held Hofstra’s bats in check. Starter Ryan Murphy pitched 6.1 innings, allowing three runs with two strikeouts, and he didn’t allow a free pass.
After giving up a double to Santino Rosso that went off the top of the large center field wall, Murphy was relieved by Hunter Entsminger who was perfect through 1.2 innings. However, in the ninth, JMU made the decision to put in closer Lliam Grubbs who failed to retire a single batter and was credited with the loss.
Hofstra will look for the sweep against JMU in their final game of the regular season on Sunday, May 15, before heading to Elon, North Carolina for the CAA Championship starting Saturday, May 28.
Photo Courtesy of Marc Levine/Hofstra Athletics
