The Hofstra baseball team clicked on all cylinders Friday afternoon at University Field, defeating the University of Delaware 9-0.
John Rooney took the mound and did not disappoint the scouts watching in the stands.
The southpaw went for a complete game shutout, allowing just two hits while striking out 11 batters.
Delaware seemed to never have a chance against Rooney, as he dominated in every single pitch thrown in the game.
“[Rooney] just came out early, hitting spots and everything was kind of on. We were ahead of almost every batter,” said catcher Matt Siedem, who went 3-4 with a home run.
Despite being brilliant all year long, Rooney tallied his first complete game of the season, arguably his most impressive performance this year.
“Thanks to the offense helping me out early, making me feel comfortable, that was definitely my best start so far,” Rooney said.
The offense most certainly made their presence felt that afternoon. Hofstra’s lineup was locked in for a season-high 17 hits despite being without their star, Vito Friscia.
“When you have Rooney on the mound, you’re shooting for runs at a time, and we put up three there early and it made everyone relaxed,” said Hofstra head coach John Russo.
The Hofstra lineup forced Delaware to use four different pitchers. The Pride scored at least one run off of three of those four, excluding pitcher Matt Ryan.
Five players put together multi-hit performances for the Pride.
Teddy Cillis helped lead the way, going 4-4 with two doubles and one run batted in (RBI).
Austin Gauthier added three hits, two runs and one RBI. Steven Foster found his way back, going 2-5 with two doubles and two RBIs. Parker Quinn also contributed a couple of two-baggers.
While Hofstra took Game One of this three-game set, Russo believes this Pride team is in a good position to take a much-needed series victory.
“[Rooney] going nine innings today saves us a lot in the bullpen, so if we can get a good start from Matt [Wessheier] tomorrow, I think we’ve got a lot to finish off, and hopefully the offense keeps swinging it well,” Russo said.
