An offensive explosion led the Hofstra baseball team to a 10-7 victory against the University of Delaware on Friday, April 15, at University Field. The Pride now has a 6-4 record against the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and has jumped into third in the conference standings.
“Our situational hitting was very good today,” said Hofstra head coach Frank Catalanotto. “We’re trying to get guys to see the ball up in a situation where all you need is a fly ball to the outfield for a sacrifice fly. They were looking for pitches that they could drive in hitters counts and I was happy with that.”
The scoring started in the first inning where Brian Morrell doubled and advanced to third on an error by Delaware right fielder Bryce Greenly. Steve Harrington then cracked a line drive single to straightaway center to give the Pride the first run of the game.
The second inning started with back-to-back singles from Jake Liberatore and Santino Rosso, giving the Pride runners on the corners. Ryan Morash doubled Hofstra’s lead after he hit a grounder to the second baseman who opted for the force out at second, allowing Liberatore to score on the fielder’s choice and making the score 2-0.
Hofstra starter Mark Faello began the third inning in trouble as Joey Loynd hit a deep fly ball to left field that Harrington lost in the sun, allowing Loynd to reach second. He then advanced to third on a wild pitch and crossed the plate two batters later on a Jordan Hutchins single: a sharp grounder that deflected off a diving Morash, giving Delaware their first run.
The Pride answered back immediately when Delaware starting pitcher Chris Ludman hit Harrington and Kevin Bruggeman with back-to-back pitches, followed by Liberatore reaching on an error to set up Rosso with the bases loaded and two outs. Rosso smacked a line drive over the shifted shortstops head into center field, scoring Harrington which was the only run Hofstra was able to bring in.
Delaware later took advantage of the long ball in the fourth inning as designated hitter Jake Dunion homered to left field. One inning later, Nick Vera, with one runner on, emphatically took Faello deep to center which gave Delaware their first and only lead of the afternoon, 4-3.
The Pride showed their resilience once again in the bottom of the fifth, though. With two outs and a man on, Liberatore was hit by a pitch, and Rosso walked on four pitches loading the bases for the second time in three innings for the Pride. A pair of singles from Morash and Zack Bailey cleared the bases and allowed Hofstra to take back the lead, now 6-4.
“That’s the mark of a good team,” Catalanotto said. “Usually, when somebody takes the lead on you, sometimes teams lay down and give up. [We] bounced right back and took the lead back, and that’s huge.”
Mike Biasiello relieved Ludman to start the sixth inning, after he allowed six runs, four of them earned, on 10 hits with three hit batsmen. Biasello was greeted by Sean Flaherty hitting his first career triple to center field on the very first pitch of the at-bat. With one out and Flaherty still on third, Delaware made the decision to intentionally walk Harrington to face Bruggeman, who answered by going deep and out of the park to right field, giving Hofstra a 9-4 lead.
Delaware’s first two batters in the top of the seventh inning reached on an error and walked, ending Faello’s start. Michael O’Hanlon was the first out of the bullpen for Hofstra, and his outing did not start as planned as Bryce Greenly and JJ Freeman both singled to cut the Pride’s lead down to four. Two batters later, Dunion hit a ball that was fielded by the first baseman Bailey and thrown past the second baseman into the outfield, allowing two runs to score and make it a 9-7 ballgame.
Hofstra scored the next inning after Flaherty doubled, advanced on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch to give the Pride a three-run cushion. O’Hanlon threw a scoreless eighth with help from Bruggeman on a strike-him-out, throw-him-out play to end the inning. O’Hanlon was sent back out in the ninth, but struggled to get the final out. Aljo Sujak came in from the bullpen and threw two pitches to end the game with a final score of 10-7.
Faello was credited with the win after throwing six innings and allowing six runs, four earned, on five hits. Ludman got the loss, his third of the season, and Sujak received the one out save.
Hofstra’s series against Delaware will continue on Saturday, April 16, at University Field with first pitch set for 12 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
