The Hofstra baseball team carried a 9-6 lead going into the bottom of the sixth inning, but the Purdue University Boilermakers rallied back and scored four unanswered runs to defeat the Pride 10-9 in their series finale on Sunday, Feb. 16, at Sanford Memorial Stadium.
The loss dropped the Pride’s record to 1-3 and marked the third time in their four games this season in which they had a lead in the sixth inning or later and lost.
Purdue got off to a quick start in the first inning and jumped out to a 2-0 lead following run-scoring hits from catcher Zac Fascia and designated hitter Miles Simington. With the Boilermakers ahead 4-1 in the third, Hofstra shortstop Austin Gauthier made a costly throwing error that resulted in two more runs and extended Purdue’s lead to 6-1.
Despite the large deficit, Hofstra exploded for eight runs in the top of the sixth inning. Designated hitter Alex Sica got the Pride rolling with a base-clearing double down the left field line that cut Purdue’s lead down to two runs. Later in the inning, Hofstra tied the game following a passed ball that scored freshman outfielder Will Kennedy. The Pride loaded the bases for the second time in the inning and took the lead after a fielding error by Purdue third baseman Kyle LaPlante that scored Gauthier and Ryan Morash. The Pride ended the inning leading 9-6.
Unfortunately for Hofstra, they failed to stay ahead once again and immediately coughed up their lead in the bottom half of the sixth. With two outs in the inning, an error by Morash allowed the Boilermakers to tie the score at nine. Purdue claimed the lead one batter later by a single from pinch-hitter Bryce Bonner.
In the ninth inning, with Gauthier leading from first base, freshman third baseman Santino Rosso hit a deep fly ball to left-center field off of Purdue closer Bo Hofstra that was caught by a leaping Skyler Hunter to end the game.
The loss spoiled yet another three-hit performance by Anthony D’Onofrio, who went 11-16 at the plate in the series and improved his batting average to .688 on the young season. Gauthier and Morash also continued their hot hitting for the Pride and tallied two hits each.
For Purdue, Fascia went 2-4 on the day and finished the series 7-14 with a .500 batting average. Ben Nisle also had a multi-hit game, driving in one run.
Following a five-day break, the Pride will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 22, when they take on La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 10 a.m.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
