The Hofstra baseball team lost their road series opener against Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opponent James Madison University (JMU) on Friday, April 26. The 8-6 defeat snapped their season best six-game winning streak.
Vito Friscia led the Pride’s offense, accounting for three of the team’s seven hits while driving in a team-high three runs.
Friscia’s three RBIs made him just the 13th player in program history to record over 100 career RBIs.
However, the Pride fell behind early, allowing a two-run home run to JMU shortstop Fox Semones in the bottom of the first.
Trevon Dabney extended the Dukes’ lead with an RBI double in the second, making it 3-0.
Hofstra got themselves back into the game in what would be an uphill battle all night by scoring three runs in the fourth inning to tie the game.
Friscia led off the inning with a single and came around to score two batters later on Austin Gauthier’s first home run of the season to dead center, making it just past the jumping center fielder.
Sean Flaherty followed up with a walk before Anthony D’Onofrio tied the game with an RBI triple, the first of his career.
JMU responded by quickly scoring two more runs in both the fourth and fifth innings. Callaway Sigler broke the tie with an RBI single, driving Hofstra starter Jack Jett out of the game.
Jett finished the day after 3.2 IP, giving up five runs on six hits and walking just one while striking out three in the losing effort.
Jimmy Joyce entered in relief, immediately allowing an unearned run on a Hofstra throwing error after Dabney’s second hit of the game.
Matt Dipasupil’s home run in the fifth made it 7-3 and Semones’ second RBI hit extended the lead to five in the sixth inning.
The Pride answered back with three runs of their own in the seventh inning.
Parker Quinn and Sean Rausch led off the inning with back-to-back singles before Rausch was erased on a fielder’s choice, trading places with Ryan Morash.
Following a wild pitch moving runners to second and third and a strikeout from Austin Pollack, Friscia hit his sixth home run of the season, cutting the deficit to 8-6.
After that, the Pride made one last effort to keep their winning streak alive in the ninth inning.
After Rausch struck out to lead off the inning, Morash did the same, but reached first on a wild pitch.
Pollack struck out for the second out but made it to third on two more wild pitches while Friscia walked to put the tying run on base.
However, JMU’s Nick Robertson put an end to the rally, striking out Rob Weissheier and picking up his seventh save of the season.
The loss ends Hofstra’s winning streak and brings their record to 12-25 (5-8 in CAA), as JMU improved to 24-18 (5-8 in CAA) with the win.
The Pride continues their series with the Dukes on Saturday, May 4, at 6 p.m.
Image Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
