The Hofstra baseball team was unable to avoid a sweep in Sunday afternoon’s series finale against the University of Delaware Blue Hens, losing 11-4. Teddy Cillis had two hits on the day for the Pride, including a three-run bomb over the center field fence.
Steven Foster had another monster game at the plate, lacing two singles and a double to finish the game with three hits. Foster is now hitting .377 on the season and has 13 hits in the last four games.
David Leiderman has brought his average up to .227 from .191 just a week ago with seven hits during the three-game series this weekend, including two hits for Hofstra on Sunday. Vinnie Costello added the Pride’s other RBI with a double down the left field line in the eighth inning.
John Rooney got the start for Hofstra, laboring through 5.1 innings on the hill. Rooney threw 123 pitches, giving up eight earned runs on eight hits while striking out four and walking five.
John Ryan came on in relief with one out in the sixth inning and successfully worked his way out of Rooney’s jam before giving up two home runs in the seventh, allowing Delaware to push their lead to 11-0.
The Blue Hen batters were all over the Pride pitching staff, clobbering five homers to all parts of the field. By the end of the game, Delaware hitters collected 13 hits and drew seven walks.
Junior outfielder Calvin Scott and senior catcher Brian Mayer led the way for the Blue Hens. Scott tallied three hits and scored twice while Mayer homered twice and drove in four runs.
Rooney took the loss for Hofstra to fall to 2-7 on the year. The sophomore’s ERA is now a bloated 6.56 to go with a 1.56 WHIP.
Matt Weissheier was a bright spot in Hofstra’s rotation. The redshirt junior threw a scoreless eighth inning on just 13 pitches, including a strikeout.
For the Blue Hens, it was Brandon Walter (4-5) on the mound getting the win. The left-hander fired five shutout innings and allowed just five hits.
With the sweep, Hofstra has lost nine of their last 10 games and their record sits at 8-25 (2-7 CAA) while Delaware’s improves to 20-14 (7-5 CAA).
The Pride travels to Manhattan College on Tuesday evening to take on the Jaspers at 6:30 p.m.