Hofstra baseball split their doubleheader 1-1 against the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA)-leading Elon University Phoenix on Saturday, May 4, getting shut out in the first game 0-7 and then coming back to win the second 4-1.
In the first game, Hofstra was unable to score a single run. Elon’s George Kirby – currently the 20th-ranked Major League Baseball Draft prospect – played a huge role by only allowing three hits and striking out 12 before sitting the final three innings.
The early afternoon was riddled with mistakes for the Pride, allowing all seven runs by Elon to be unearned. Five of Elon’s runs came in the third inning after a two-out error by Hofstra opened the Phoenix’s attack. The Phoenix scored three runs on two bases-loaded walks and a hit batsman. They later added two more unanswered runs in the fourth inning, due to a throwing error allowed for a run and a batter hit.
Elon’s Adam Spurlin had two RBIs on the day without a single hit in the game, while Tyler Cranston recorded three hits on the afternoon. For the Pride, senior Michael James got a loss on the evening after allowing five earned runs on only two hits in a little under three innings. As a team, Hofstra only recorded six hits in the opening game.
In the later game, the Pride turned their play around and secured a 4-1 win over Elon, snapping their 12-game conference winning streak. Freshman Ryan Rue and senior Andrew Mundy helped Hofstra limit Elon to only one run on eight hits. Rue threw six shutout innings and struck out six on the evening before allowing Mundy to finish the game in the final three innings. Mundy allowed just one ninth-inning run to earn his third save on the season.
To begin, Tyler White gave the Pride a 1-0 lead before later doubling in the third. Rob Weissheier then doubled in the fourth and came home on an Austin Gauthier single to give Hofstra a 2-0 lead. Vito Friscia extended the lead to 3-0 in the fifth inning with an RBI double that lead Pollack in from first base. Finally, Weissheier had a solo home run in the beginning of the eighth to complete Hofstra’s scoring.
Nick Cicci drove in Elon’s sole run in the final inning off a groundout as Jared Wetherbee took the loss after allowing three runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings. He also recorded 10 strikeouts.
“[This win] tells you about our team,” said head coach John Russo. “We have sold out for one another, and every guy has bought into family. I think they just really figured out what team they are.”
Friscia extended his hitting streak to eight games while his on-base streak climbed to 24. Hofstra is now 5-10 all time against Elon University.
“We just tee’d it up with the best team in the CAA, and I think we won 24 of 27 innings,” Russo said. “You’ve got to really commend the pitching staff today. Eighteen innings and only giving up one earned.”
The Pride will be back in action Tuesday, May 7, at Long Island University Brooklyn, with the teams set to take the mound at 3 p.m.
Image courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
