By Elliot Rubin - STAFF WRITER Hofstra’s offense came alive on Sunday, although it was too little, too late as they got swept by the Longwood Lancers following a 6-5 loss in a back-and-forth affair.
The Pride started off the scoring in the first inning when David Leiderman scored on a wild pitch. In the bottom half of the inning, Longwood designated hitter Alex Lewis reached on an error, allowing Sammy Miller to score, tying the game at one. In the fourth inning, the Lancers returned the favor as Vito Friscia scored on an error for Hofstra, giving the Pride a brief 2-1 lead.
After Colton Konvicka knocked in a run on a RBI single, and Brandon Harvell was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the fourth, Longwood had a momentary 3-2 lead.
Two innings later, Hofstra’s Nick Bottari hit a RBI single, driving in Mat Annunziata and tying the game for the Pride at 3-3.
In the bottom of the inning, however, Carlos Garrido drove in Connar Bastaich with a single to left center, giving Longwood a 4-3 lead.
In the final frame, Bottari and Teddy Cillis hit back-to-back home runs, turning the Pride’s 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 lead.
Unfortunately for Hofstra, the Lancers still had three more outs to play with, and they took advantage. In the bottom of the ninth, Lewis hit a walk-off two-run double, scoring Michael Osinski and C.J. Roth, winning the game for Longwood.
Offensively, the Pride recorded 10 hits, with Friscia, Bottari, and Steven Foster leading the way with multi-hit games. Foster also recorded his first steal of the season. As a team, Hofstra struck out seven times, walked three times and left seven runners stranded.
For the Lancers, Bastaich, Konvicka, Osinski and Drew Kitson each had multi-hit games, and each of the starting position players had at least one hit. The team struck out seven times and left eight men on base.
Hofstra starter Bowie Matteson went the first five and two-thirds innings, allowing nine hits, four runs (three earned), three strikeouts and two hit batsmen. John Rooney came on the final five outs, allowing four hits, two runs (both earned) and four strikeouts. Rooney (1-1) suffered his first loss of the season.
Longwood starter Luke Simpson went the first eight innings, allowing four runs (three earned), two walks, seven strikeouts and one wild pitch.
Sean Pico (1-0) got the win for the Lancers. Pico pitched the final inning, allowing two hits and a run in his first win of the season.