Baseball drops series opener to Charleston
Hofstra baseball lost the first of a three-game away series at the College of Charleston, 9-0, to open up Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play on Friday, March 29. Entering the conference schedule, the Pride looked to rebound from a four-game losing streak and their most recent 3-2 loss to Monmouth in extra innings.
Graduate student Michael James started on the mound for Hofstra and is credited with the loss, dropping him to 0-5 on the season. Griffin McLarty earned the start for Charleston and pitched a near-perfect performance for Charleston in eight innings, only allowing two hits and recording 11 strikeouts.
Hofstra’s offensive inefficiencies were apparent throughout the evening as the Pride suffered their fourth shutout loss of the season to drop their record to 3-16.
In the top of the second, after the Pride was unable to capitalize on a leadoff double by junior infielder Rob Weissheier, the Cougars made their mark by building a quick lead in the bottom of the inning. Charleston opened the scoring when Harrison Hawkins knocked in an RBI single to center field – his first of two hits on the day. The balls continued to fly for the Charleston Cougars as Hofstra’s starting pitcher James struggled to find his groove all evening long.
Charleston’s second baseman Dupree Hart doubled the Cougars’ lead four batters later when he grounded out to second and Hawkins scored from third. Charleston was not done in the second inning though, as senior Chaz Davey ripped a single to centerfield shortly after, bringing in two runs to extend the Charleston lead to 4-0 entering the top of the third.
Hofstra’s best chance to get on the scoreboard was robbed in sensational fashion by Charleston right fielder Bradley Dixon. The redshirt senior made a leaping home run-stealing grab at the warning track to take away a would-be solo-shot by Pride catcher Sean Flaherty in the top of the fourth.
Charleston dominated the batter's box with 14 hits while Hofstra only recorded four. The Pride fell well below their season batting average, hitting only .133 in the defeat. Meanwhile, Charleston lit up the scoreboard, hitting .424.
Charleston went on to add to their lead in the sixth, scoring two runs on a sacrifice fly from Chris Graham and an RBI single from Luke Manzo. A three-run blast by catcher Danny Wondrak in the seventh put an exclamation point on the Cougars’ shutout victory.
Charleston’s Logan McRae also had an exceptional day hitting 3-3 with a double and one run scored.
Hofstra turned three double-plays Friday evening, moving up to No. 4 in the nation in double-plays.
Hofstra’s Anthony D'Onofrio now has a five-game hitting streak. Weissheier notched his sixth multi-hit game of the season and extended his on-base streak to 14 games.
Charleston moves to 17-10 overall and now holds a 2-2 record in CAA play. Hofstra will be searching for their first victory in conference play after dropping their opener. On Saturday, March 30, both teams will face off again at 2 p.m. and then again at 6 p.m. in a doubleheader after the series finale, set for Sunday, was moved forward due to inclement weather.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
