The Hofstra University baseball team survived a late-inning rally by the Seton Hall University Pirates on Tuesday, March 26, winning on the diamond 3-2. With the win, the Pride jumped to 8-15 overall, while Seton Hall fell to 14-11.
“I thought it was a well-played game,” said Hofstra head coach Frank Catalanotto. “The pitching was outstanding, and it’s nice to see Penn Sealey bounce back after that rough outing at Columbia [University]. [Mike] McKenna did a great job and I thought [Carlos] Martinez pitched really well too, so it was nice to scratch that last run across in the eighth inning.”
Hofstra came into the game having lost two straight games at University Field in Hempstead. In both losses, the Pride gave up a stunning total of 26 runs through two contests. However, this game was a shift.
Four pitchers hit the mound, with McKenna picking up his first win of the season for the Pride. McKenna avoided a Pirates rally by finishing off the game with two innings pitched, giving up one hit and recording one strikeout on seven at-bats.
Hofstra led the entire game, recording their first run of the game in the second inning after a passed ball led to Steve Harrington reaching home plate.
The next score would come in the fourth inning after Luke Masiuk stole second base following a walk. Will Kennedy doubled down the right-field line to bring in Masiuk for a 2-0 lead.
Seton Hall got on the board in the seventh inning. Staus Pokrovsky nailed a double down the left-field line which brought home the Pirates’ first run. This was then followed by a double play leading to Pokrovsky reaching home and tying the game at 2-2.
Despite the rally, the Pride quickly answered in the eighth inning with bases loaded. Matt Pelcher grounded out to third base, leading into the third and final score by Alex McCoy.
“That’s what we have to do, and we have to get better at is the situational hitting,” Catalanotto said. “You know getting runners over from second to third and getting the run in from third base with less than two outs. And we’re working on it; we haven’t been good at it this year but we’re working, and it was nice to see [Kennedy] able to do it earlier in the game and so was Harrington.”
The Pirates were only able to get Aiden Robbins on base in the top of the ninth inning, as Hofstra quieted Seton Hall to take home the non-conference victory.
“They’re a really good team, so to beat a team like that, it’s big and obviously with the start we got off on so far, our record doesn’t look good and our overall record [doesn’t either], but right now it’s all about the weekend games, the conference games,” Catalanotto said. “So, during the midweek games if we can get some confidence going into the weekend, I think that’s what’s most important.”
Before McKenna pitched the end of the win, Martinez started the game and went two innings, recording three strikeouts. Sealey then stepped in and tossed the most frames out of everyone with three strikeouts accounted for as well. Brian Hart pitched one inning and gave up the two runs by Seton Hall.
The Pride returned to the field on Wednesday, March 27, at home against Long Island University at 3 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Alexis Friedman
