After dropping game one to Seton Hall University, the Hofstra University baseball team rebounded for a 16-8 victory over the Pirates on Saturday, March 21. The Pride were led by Tyler Castrataro, who went 2-4, drew a walk and brought in four RBIs. With the victory, the Pride moved to 6-11 on the season and remained 2-4 in Coastal Athletic Association play. The Pirates dropped to 9-9 on the season, with all 18 games being non-conference games.

Chris Bedford was on the mound for the Pride. Bedford entered the afternoon 0-0 on the season and had an ERA of 3.95. He pitched four innings with two strikeouts, gave up seven hits, walked three batters and allowed four runs. 

For the Pirates, Jayden Barroqueiro took the mound. Entering the afternoon, he was 0-3 on the season with a 9.37 ERA. He went 4.1 innings, struck out three batters, gave up seven hits and walked one batter. He also allowed five runs, four which were earned, and was tagged with the loss. 

The Pride got the scoring started early, as they tacked three in the first frame. Castrataro lined a double to center field, scoring both Michael Brown and CJ Griggs. Castrataro later scored on a sacrifice bunt from Nick Biddle. 

The Pirates answered back with three of their own in the bottom of the second. Friday’s hero, Frankie Scrivanic, doubled to left-center field, scoring Nick Tomasetto. Scrivanic scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Aiden Dill. The final run of the frame came courtesy of Magnus Kreiger, who scored on Gabe Cavazzoni’s single to center field. 

The game remained tied at three until Hofstra scored two in the top of the fifth. A Tyler Cox double to left-center field gave the Pride a 4-3 lead and ended Barroqueiro’s day. The Pirates chose to replace Barroquiero with Christopher Ho. After Griggs stole second, Cox scored on an error by Seton Hall second baseman Ty Acker. 

The Pirates fought back, though, scoring a run of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Seton Hall loaded the bases, ending Bedford’s afternoon. The Pride went to Tanner Sanderoff in the bullpen. The first batter Sanderoff faced, Acker, sent a sacrifice fly to center field, which scored Cavazzoni and made it a 5-4 ballgame in favor of Hofstra. Sanderoff rebounded and got out of the inning; he also earned the win on the day. 

A bases loaded walk opened the scoring in the sixth for the Pride, as Brown drew the walk that scored Biddle. That walk was the end of the line for Ho, as Seton Hall looked to Connor Byrne. Byrne suffered the same fate as Sanderoff. Cox flew out to right field, but Danny Corona scored on the sacrifice fly. Unlike Sanderoff, Byrne couldn’t get out of the inning unscathed, as Griggs roped a single to right field, which scored Brown and Giovanni Bausone. The four-run inning extended the Hofstra lead to 9-4. 

Hofstra kept their foot on the pedal in the seventh as the Pride plated seven. Corona singled to right field, which scored Nick Gallello. Corona scored on Cox’s bases-loaded walk. The next batter, Griggs, also drew a walk, which scored Daniel Escalante. These two walks ended Byrne’s day, and Seton Hall looked to John Donahue, who gave up two runs to the first batter he faced, after Castrataro singled to right field, which scored Cox and Bausone. Castrataro scored the next at bat; Gallello doubled to left-center, which also scored Griggs. The seven-run seventh gave the Pride a twelve run lead at 16-4. 

Seton Hall wasn’t willing to give up, though, as they plated three in the bottom of the seventh. Nick Tomasetto drew a bases-loaded walk from Michael D’Ambrosio, which scored Aidan Sengenberger. Scrivanic then sent a sacrifice fly to center field, which scored Ryan Frontera. The final run of the frame came from Acker, who scored on a wild pitch. These three runs made it a 16-7 game. 

The Pirates tacked on one more run in the final frame. Scrivanic singled to right field, which scored Tomasetto, but Hofstra held on for a 16-8 win.     

The final game of the series was Saturday, March 21, with the first pitch of the rubber match from Mike Sheppard, Sr. Stadium at Owen T. Carroll Field at for noon.