Hofstra’s second win of the afternoon and fourth in a row came off of an inspired pitching performance from senior Matt Weissheier, as the Pride defeated Norfolk State 5-1 on Saturday evening.
Weissheier (1-1) kept the Norfolk bats mum, carrying a no-hitter all the way into the final frame of the seven-inning excursion. The right-handed hurler finished allowing one run on three hits in 6.2 innings with six strikeouts.
Austin Gauthier and Rob Weissheier led the Pride offensively, as Gauthier recorded three base hits, driving in one run. The younger of the two Weissheiers had two knocks and a RBI in four plate appearances. Rob Weissheier currently leads the Pride with a .412 batting average, five RBI, four doubles and a .647 slugging percentage.
The offense got going in the third as freshman Devon Jeffreys walked, advanced to second on a sacrifice, and came all the way around on a Gauthier RBI single. The Pride were primed to add a pair of insurance runs in the sixth when Gauthier stroked a double and Vito Friscia followed up by hustling out an infield single. Rob Weissheier singled home Gauthier, and Friscia scored off a RBI base hit from Vinnie Costello. Costello has four hits in 16 at-bats and is slugging .438 this season. The final Hofstra runs were a result of a passed ball and an error in the seventh inning.
The elder Weissheier let up a double in the bottom of the seventh inning at the hands of Alsander Womack to break up his bid for a no-hitter. Womack was driven in by a two-out Khie Simms single to give Norfolk State its only run in the contest.
With only one out left, Teddy Cillis came in to shut the door. Cillis recorded a strikeout and his first save of the season, cementing Hofstra’s longest win streak since the Pride went on a five-game run in 2016.
Hofstra wraps up the three-game set Sunday at noon.