The Hofstra University baseball team mercy ruled Rider University with a final score of 16-6 in eight innings on Wednesday, March 11. In their home opener, the Pride advanced to 2-8 on the season, and Frank Catalanotto secured his 100th career victory as head coach of the Pride.
Hofstra had no problem against Rider’s pitching, the Pride smacked three home runs and two doubles en route to an 11-hit afternoon.
Michael Brown led the way for the Pride in his first game since Hofstra’s loss to Liberty University. Brown wasted no time, smashing the first blast of his collegiate career to lead off the bottom of the first inning. He also added a three-run shot to break the game open late in the third inning. Brown matched his career-high four hits and set a new personal best with six RBIs.
Pitcher Sean Hamilton started for Hofstra. He was looking sharp until the game finally got to him in the fourth inning, resulting in four-runs. In four innings pitched, Hamilton surrendered four runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out three people.
The Pride bullpen got off to a rocky start but found their pace later in the game. Russell
Hunter gave up two runs in the fifth inning thanks to a pair of hits and a pair of wild pitches
sandwiched between a walk. Michael D’Ambrosio came in for the final out of the fifth
and threw a scoreless sixth frame. Deuce Musial and Grady Lacourciere followed suit,
throwing an inning each and not allowing a run. Lacourciere struck out the side in the top
of the eighth.
It was a nine-run third inning for the Pride that got them on their way to the victory. After a leadoff single from Brown, Rider starter Jack Ruditzky hit JJ DeVito and CJ Griggs to load the
bases for Gabriel Melara. Melara extended his hitting streak to five games, knocking in
two runs on a base hit through the left side of the infield. Tyler Cox, Michael Craig and Danny Corona added RBI knocks of their own as Brown capped off the inning with his three-run shot.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Broncs started to claw back after Eliot Medlock led off the inning by clearing the fence in left. Rider would go on to score three more runs thanks to two hits, three walks and a hit-by-pitch.
Hofstra never took their foot off the gas. They scored in the bottom of the fourth without
recording a hit. Rider reliever Jake Dorety walked Craig, hit Corona and Sam Leonard on
back-to-back pitches and followed with a walk to Brown with the bases loaded.
In the bottom of the fifth, Hofstra scored four runs – once again scoring without recording
a hit. The Pride were given five free passes in the inning and were hit twice by a pitch.
The final blow came in the bottom of the eighth inning when Cox crushed his first
homer of the season to deep left field to mercy rule the Riders.
“[Cox has] been a little hot and cold for me,” Catalanatto said. “He’s one of my best hitters – maybe my best hitter – so we need to get him going. That swing looked really good.”
The Pride looked to keep the momentum rolling in a road series at Monmouth University
on Friday, March 13. First pitch was scheduled for 3 p.m.
