The Hofstra baseball team opened their season with a 3-1 victory over Houston Baptist University on Friday, Feb. 25. The game was the first of a doubleheader against the Huskies. This was also the first win for new Hofstra head coach Frank Catalanotto. Catalanotto’s first victory came over legendary Houston Astros outfielder Lance Berkman, who is in his first season coaching for the Huskies.
Senior Mark Faello was efficient on the mound for the Pride, pitching a complete game, allowing only one run on four hits. The Pride offense was led by junior catcher Kevin Bruggeman, who hit the team’s first home run of the season in the top of the seventh and final inning of the game.
The Pride and Huskies held each other scoreless through the first four innings of the game, thanks to strong pitching from Huskies senior Ethan Abbott, with the Pride struggling to take advantage of the four errors the Huskies committed in the first four innings of the game alone. The Huskies committed more errors than they allowed hits during the game.
The Pride finally broke through in the top of the fifth inning. With two on base and two out, senior designated hitter Sean Flaherty cracked a 0-1 pitch down the rightfield line for a two-run double that broke the scoreless tie and gave the Pride a 2-0 lead. The Huskies cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fifth, as junior Kevin Ortiz scored on a Faello wild pitch.
After a scoreless sixth inning, Hofstra added an insurance run off the bat of Bruggeman, who sent a 2-0 pitch over the right center field wall to give the Pride a 3-1 lead. Faello closed out the game in the seventh, giving the Pride its first victory of the season and taking the first game of Friday’s doubleheader.
Despite only collecting four hits and failing to convert on key opportunities early in the game, the Pride was able to combine strong pitching from Faello with timely offense in order to take down the Huskies. While the Pride earned a 1-0 record after their opening game, the Huskies dropped their sixth game in a row and have yet to secure their first victory this season.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
