By Mark Mausner – STAFF WRITER With Hofstra trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the 11th, third baseman David Leiderman sent a two-run shot over the wall in deep left centerfield to give the Pride a 4-3 walk-off win on Friday afternoon.
“It’s a great momentum win. We really needed that. We’ve had so many tough losses late in games and it’s great to finally get one to go our way, so hopefully it carries over,” Leiderman said.
The win was just the second time the Pride have ever beaten Charleston.
Bradley Jones’ solo homer gave Charleston a one-run lead with nobody out in the top of the 11th. Reliever Andrew Mundy, however, stopped the bleeding to keep the Pride within reach, and Leiderman did the rest.
Hofstra – the last place team in the Colonial Athletic Association – moved to 10-24 overall and 2-7 in conference play. Charleston, who came into the game as the first place team in the CAA dropped to 21-12-1 overall and 5-2 in conference.
Hofstra’s starting pitcher Chris Weiss threw nine innings and allowed just two runs on six hits. He walked four and struck out seven before Mundy relieved him in the 10th.
“[Weiss] had a really good slider going which got him a couple of strikeouts. You’ve got to remember Chris was a position player for us last year so he’s still learning the craft of pitching. In his last two outings, I just think you can tell what it’s done for him to be solely pitching and I think his future is as bright as any kid on our team,” Pride head coach John Russo said.
The two runs came in the sixth when Alex Pastorius knocked in runners on second and third with a single up the middle.
Charleston’s starter Nathan Helvey also allowed two runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out five in 7 1/3 innings.
The Pride came roaring back in the bottom of the eighth. Catcher Chris Hardardt reached base on a throwing error and was advanced to second on Max Dolente’s single. On a 3-2 count, Steven Foster popped up behind the third base line but Charleston’s Tommy Richter, dropped the ball, keeping Foster’s at-bat alive. A few pitches later, Foster made the Cougars pay with a double to left center that scored Hardardt.
At that point, Helvey was pulled and replaced by Will Detwiler. The pitching change didn’t faze the Pride, as Mat Annunziata’s ground out brought the tying run home, tying the game at two apiece.
Charleston brought reliever Carter Love into the game in the 10th, who sported a 2-1 record and a sub-3 ERA coming into the ballgame. Love retired the first three hitters he faced his first time up, but ended up taking the loss after giving up the homerun to Leiderman. Mundy got the victory for the Pride to bring his record to 1-0, his first career win.