by Vinny Messana
After falling behind 3-0 after one inning, the Hofstra bats came to life early and often against the Army pitching staff, and they came away with their fourth consecutive victory by the score of 14-8.
Mat Annunziata went 2-for-4 with six RBI including a three-run home run in the second inning that tied the game at three. Nick Bottari went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a mammoth two-run shot in the ninth inning to blow the game open at 14-7.
“I thought they stayed patient in the zone,” said Head Coach John Russo. “We took a lot of walks and put a lot of guys on and when we had a chance to capitalize, we had a lot of big swings,” he added.
The team drew 13 walks as well, with Vito Friscia and Ryan Karl each accounting for four of those. Friscia is now second in the nation with 17 walks through 11 games.
The game was not as lopsided as it would appear.
Hofstra’s starter, Andrew Mundy, was making his first collegiate start. He was squeezed by the umpire which led to a bases-loaded walk and then a bad hop over David Leiderman’s head resulted in an RBI single and the Pride was down 3-0 in the first inning.
In the top of the second, the Pride got the first two runners on via bases on balls and Annunziata smashed an opposite-field three-run shot to tie it.
Mundy settled down in the second inning and through a 1-2-3 inning.
The score remained tied until the top of the fifth inning when Friscia ripped a single up the middle to score David Leiderman, who walked to lead off the inning.
Freshman John Rooney promptly sent down the Black Knights in order for the third consecutive inning. He earned his first college win.
The Pride broke it open in the sixth inning with a five-spot. After Bottari walked to leadoff the inning, Teddy Cilis smashed a triple to deep center. Tom Archer followed with a single to right field to score Cilis. After a pitching change and three walks, Anunziata made it hurt with a two-run single to center field. Bottari followed with a single to make it 9-3.
The Black Knights chipped away with one in the sixth and two in the seventh off Chris Bonk and Brendan Mulligan.
The pivotal moment came in the bottom of the eighth with the Pride clinging to a 9-7 lead with the go-ahead run at the plate. Russo called on sophomore Adam Heidenfelder, who came in and blew a 91-MPH fastball by Trey Martin to retire the side.
Teddy Cilis came on in the ninth and worked around a leadoff triple to close the door.
The Pride improve to 4-7 on the season. They will face Longwood University this weekend down in Virginia in a three-game set.
