The Hofstra baseball team fell to the CAA-leading Huskies of Northeastern University 5-4 in ten innings on Saturday. Pride starter John Rooney pitched six innings, notching 10 strikeouts while giving up just two runs. It is the second consecutive start with 10 strikeouts for Rooney.
Designated hitter Vito Friscia went 2-for-5 with a home run. Shortstop Brad Witkowski went 2-for-5 with a triple. Third baseman David Leiderman went 3-for-4 with a RBI and a walk. Second baseman Tom Archer added two hits as well.
With Hofstra leading 4-2 in the ninth with two outs, the Huskies fought back with a pinch-hit, two-run home run by Grant Fanneron to force extra innings.
After Hofstra was shut down in the tenth, Northeastern got the bottom half of the inning started with a single by Charlie McConnell. Mason Koppens would follow with another single. Cam Hanley would hit the third-straight single scoring McConnell walking it off for the Huskies.
Northeastern’s Andrew Misiaszek picked up his second win while Hofstra’s John Ryan would pick up his third loss giving up three runs in three-plus innings in relief.
Northeastern got the scoring started in the second inning thanks to a two-run home run by Scott Holwazzer. Hofstra would respond with a RBI single in the third by Leiderman scoring Witkowski. The Pride’s Teddy Cillis added another RBI single in the fourth to tie the game.
The next two innings went scoreless for both teams. Friscia would break the 2-2 tie in the seventh with a solo home run for his team-leading fifth of the year. Starting catcher Chris Hardardt hit a sacrifice fly later in the inning to add to the lead.
With the loss, Hofstra fell to 3-11 in the CAA and 10-30 overall. Northeastern improved to 11-3 record in CAA, retaining the first-place spot, while also improving to 22-17 overall.
The Pride will look to salvage one against the Huskies Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.