Hofstra starts series with 10-4 win over UMass-Lowell

The Hofstra University baseball team opened up its three-game set against the University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks with a 10-4 win on Friday, May 12, behind clutch performances from Steve Harrington and Kevin Bruggeman.

Harrington went 3-5 and supplied four RBIs on the day. Bruggeman also showed signs of strength from the batter’s box, going 2-5 and securing himself four RBIs in the game as well.

The Pride sent out Brad Camarda to pitch, who dominated with a no-hitter in his last outing. On the other side, the River Hawks gave Matt Draper the nod on the mound.

Hofstra wasted no time in the first, scoring the first run off an error by third baseman Brandon Fish to make the score 1-0. However, the River Hawks answered right back with a deep solo home run courtesy of Jacob Humphrey over the left field wall to tie the game at one. Hofstra turned the tide back with Dylan Palmer's double securing the RBI, making the lead 2-1.

Hofstra remained in control, supplying itself with plenty of runs with Harrington at the helm. With two singles from Harrington in back-to-back innings, his clutch performance solidified an 8-1 lead after the fifth. The River Hawks used five pitchers in relief and did not back down without a fight. A wild pitch put Hernandez across the board to make the score 8-2, and a Frintz Genther double down the left field line scored two, coming within four runs and making the score 8-4.

Hofstra put the cherry on top in the late innings with Bruggeman reaching on an error, scoring one in the seventh. An Anthony D’Onofrio sacrifice fly tallied up their runs for the 10-4 win.

Camarda dominated once more as he pitched 6.0 innings, only allowing four runs off six hits and five strikeouts against the River Hawks and bringing his record to 6-2 on the year.

Coming up in their last couple of games for the season, Hofstra now moves back to .500 with a 24-24 record but still sits in seventh place in the CAA standings. To stay alive for a chance at the CAA tournament, winning continues to be a necessity down the stretch. The win earned head coach Frank Catalanotto his 100th win as head coach of the Pride.

Hofstra will seek a series win in its second game of the series against the River Hawks on Saturday, May 13, with the first pitch set for 4 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Connor Graf