The Hofstra men’s baseball team fell to Butler University 10-5 on Sunday, March 3, to end the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational in Kissimmee, Florida. The Pride ended the invitational with a 1-3 record after defeating Saint Peter’s University on Saturday, March 2. 

Mark Faello received his first loss of the season after giving up eight runs (six earned) on eight hits in 4.1 innings. Andrew Mundy finished the game in relief going 4.2 innings and giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits. Rob Weissheier finished with two hits and two RBIs, improving both his RBI and hit total to eight on the season. Vito Friscia also finished with two hits, including his first homerun of the season. Austin Gauthier and Vinnie Costello also drove in a run each, improving their RBI totals to five and two, respectively. 

Hofstra struggled against Butler’s starting pitcher, Connor Schultz, who got the win to improve his record to 2-0 on the season. He went six innings, giving up only two runs – both earned – on five hits. He also recorded 10 strikeouts. The bullpen finished up the game but held the lead for Schultz, only giving up three more runs the rest of the way. 

Butler was off to an 8-1 lead in the fifth inning. Hofstra would then score four unanswered runs – one run in the sixth and three runs in the seventh – to cut the deficit to 8-5. Butler then extended their lead by scoring two more runs in the ninth inning to put the game away. 

Two Butler players proved to be too much for Hofstra’s pitching. Kyle Smith drove in four runs with two, two-run home runs while Duncan Hewitt’s magic number was three as he finished with three hits, RBIs and scored runs. 

With the loss, Hofstra has now lost five of their last six games, falling to a 2-6 record overall.

Hofstra will have their home opener on Thursday, March 7, and look to get back on the win column when they take on Iona College. This will be the first game of a New York stretch in which the Pride will face off against both Iona and Fordham University two times in a four-day span.

Image courtesy of Hofstra Athletics