By Mark Mausner - STAFF WRITER The Hofstra Pride baseball team fell short of a late-game comeback as they were downed by the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens by a score of 8-4 on Friday afternoon at University Field in the first game of a double header.
The game was tied at 3 apiece but the turning point came in the top of the 6th inning when the Blue Hens doubled their run total to take the lead for good.
Junior infielder Jeremy Ake knocked in two runs with a single to left field and Kevin Mohollen’s sacrifice fly to right field brought Ake home to bring Delaware’s lead to 6-3.
Hofstra tried to ignite a comeback in the bottom of the 8th when sophomore outfielder Steven Foster sent a triple to deep right field and then came home on a wild pitch by reliever Nick Spadafino.
That was as close as the Pride would come as Nick Tierno’s double to right center scored Kyle Baker to bring the score to 7-3 in the ninth. Diaz Nardo’s RBI single brought Tierno home for the final run of the game.
Hofstra’s sophomore right-hander Chris Weiss took the loss to bring his record to 1-3. He allowed five runs on nine hits and struck out two in five innings. Ron Marinaccio continued his stellar 2016 campaign by giving up three runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings pitched to tally his 6th win of the season.
Delaware’s Jordon Glover got the scoring started in the top of the first inning with a RBI double to center field. Ryan Karl tied the game up in the bottom of the frame with a RBI groundout to first base.
After Doug Trimble’s single up the middle gave Delaware a 2-1 advantage, Hofstra’s Teddy Cillis launched a two-run homer out of the park to give the Pride a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third.
That would be the last lead Hofstra saw in the game as Delaware’s Nick Patten tied the game with a RBI single in the top of the fourth inning.
Foster, Cillis, and junior infielder Brad Witkowski all had three hits for the Pride. The rest of the team had an additional three hits combined to bring the total to 12 for the game.
The Pride also lost the nightcap of the doubleheader, 13-3, dropping Hofstra’s record to 8-23 overall and 1-6 in CAA play.
The Pride play host to Delaware again on April 10 at 1 P.M.