After a rally to win game one on Friday, the Hofstra baseball team looked to take the series win over the University of Delaware on Saturday, April 16, but fell just short of another come-from-behind win, losing by a score of 5-4 at University Field in Hempstead, New York.
With this loss, the Pride is now 14-15 on the season, having lost five of their last seven games. Hofstra also now has a record of 6-5 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play. Delaware bounces up to 20-12 overall with a CAA record of 5-3.
“It was a game we thought we could have won, but we made some mistakes,” said Hofstra head coach Frank Catalanotto. “[Mistakes like Kevin] Bruggeman getting picked off at second, and not being able to get the bunt down there at the end in the ninth inning, and we walked a bunch of guys in those middle innings and gave up some runs. [We’re] disappointed, but we’ve got to bounce back tomorrow and win the series.”
Joey Silan was credited with his third win of the season for the Blue Hens, going six innings while only allowing two runs, both earned, and striking out seven. Chris Keenan was given the loss for Hofstra after giving up back-to-back home runs in the top of the sixth inning, which ended up being the daggers for the Pride. This was Keenan’s second loss of the season. Dom Velazquez got the save, despite giving up two runs.
John Mikolaicyk made his first start in over a month for Hofstra, going four innings and allowing one run on one hit.
“I thought [Mikolaicyk] pitched great, and then it looked to me he was getting tired,” Catalanotto said. “He hasn’t thrown a lot of pitches in a while. But he was strong early on, so I was happy about that.”
Hofstra scored early by taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Bruggeman hit a double to center field that brought Sean Flaherty home. Steve Harrington tried to extend the lead but was thrown out at home by the shortstop.
The Pride added onto the lead in the third inning with a solo shot by Brian Morrell to left field, his third homer of the season. Delaware cut into that lead in the next frame on a groundout by Jake Dunion that scored JJ Freeman.
After four innings by Mikolaicyk, Keenan came in for Hofstra. On the 1-2 pitch to Freeman, the Delaware batter hit a ball to right centerfield that cleared the wall and tied the game. Four pitches later, Joseph Carpenter hit a home run headed towards Colonial Square to give the Blue Hens a 3-2 lead. Two sacrifice flies got the Blue Hens two more runs and made it a 5-2 lead for Delaware.
Had it not been for the efforts of Steven Kaenzig, Hofstra might have lost this game by a larger margin. He produced four solid innings of baseball. The sophomore struck out just one batter but did not give up any runs in his four innings of work.
“[Kaenzig is] earning himself more time,” Catalanotto said. “I thought he looked really good today. He’s a guy that needs to get more innings and he delivered today. I would expect to see more of him soon.”
In the bottom of the eighth, Santino Rosso hit a double to left center that scored Jake Liberatore. The Pride seemed to have a rally going in the bottom of the ninth, with Harrington hitting an RBI single that scored Ryan Morash, but that was all the Pride could pull off. The game ended on a groundout from Bruggeman with Anthony D’Onofrio left on third base.
Hofstra returns to action on Sunday, April 17, at University Field, looking to take the series from Delaware. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
