The Hofstra Pride baseball team picked up its ninth win of the season with an 8-2 victory over the Jaspers of Manhattan College Tuesday night in Wappingers Falls, New York. Though the Pride has struggled with its early offense at times throughout this season, it clearly was not an issue on Tuesday.
With two runners on for Hofstra in the top of the first inning, third baseman David Leiderman connected on a two-run double, scoring both runners to give Hofstra an early 2-0 lead.
Thanks to some impressive hitting with runners on base, the Pride maintained a consistent offensive attack throughout the majority of the game.
Though the Pride had offensive success from several different players, it was senior shortstop Brad Witkowski who led the way. Witkowski finished the game 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs batted, which came off a two-run home run in the fifth inning.
For the Jaspers, their offense was led by catcher Fabian Pena, who went 2-for-3 at the plate with two doubles and two RBI.
It was not just offense that led the Pride to the victory. Junior Chris Weiss had a solid outing, tossing two innings with no runs allowed and only one hit.
The Pride had continued success out of the bullpen from pitchers Michael James, Jorge Marrero and John Ryan. It was not until the bottom of the eighth inning that Manhattan scored their first and only runs of the game, thanks to a two-run double from catcher Fabian Pena, coming off of Hofstra’s Matt Weissheier.
Weissheier would go on to finish the game for Hofstra, allowing two total hits through two innings pitched. Chris Weiss took the win on the mound for the Pride and now holds a record of 3-2.
Coming into this game Hofstra held an overall record of 8-25, while the Jaspers held a comparable record of 9-24. Despite the teams’ seemingly even records, the Pride had full control over the game from start to finish.
Coming up for the Pride, they will begin a three-game series against CAA opponent UNC Wilmington, who currently holds an overall record of 16-19. The series begins April 21 at 3 p.m. at Hofstra University.