Well, there’s always today’s games.
Despite the excitement of college baseball’s Opening Day, it was a less-than-stellar performance from the local teams. All five teams in action suffered setbacks. The good news is that today is another day for the team’s to bounce back. Here’s a quick rundown of how it went down.
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Division-I:
Hofstra entered the bottom of the eighth inning with a 6-4 lead over Purdue. The flood gates, unfortunately, would open in that inning for the Boilermakers, who put up a five-spot. The big knock came by Kyle LaPlante – who crushed a bases-clearing double to give them a 9-6 lead, which wound up being the final. The closer for Purdue is named Bo Hofstra – coincidentally enough, and he wound up recording the save.
There was some good news for the Pride, though
- Austin Gauthier hit his first career leadoff home run. He had a great game at the plate, going 2-for-2 with three runs, three walks and two RBI.
- Anthony D’Onofrio, the sophomore batting third in the lineup,, went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a walk. They will need the Wantagh native to continue to hit this season.
- Jack Jett, who has really impressed me with his stuff, allowed 0 ER (4 runs) over 4.2 innings.
- Lucas Hall came on in the fifth inning and retired the lone batter he faced in his Hofstra debut.
The two teams will be back in action today in a double header beginning a 1 pm.
Stony Brook and Texas State were tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, but a three-run shot gave Texas State a 4-1 lead. The Seawolves would not give in, though – RBI singles by Shane Paradine and Evan Giordano made it 4-3.
Evan Giordano was the lone Seawolves batter with two hits.
Jared Milch got the start, he was outstanding. He went 5.0 innings, allowing just one run (0 ER) on four hits. Ben Fero was tagged with the loss. The hard-throwing sophomore went 2 innings, but allowed the game-winning HR. Adam Erickson came on in relief of him.
The two teams will play a doubleheader today beginning at 3 pm.
LIU lost their first post-merger game, 4-0, to University of South Carolina-Upstate. Jackson Svete, who defeated No. 9 ranked Georgia last season, got the ball in the opener. He was serviceable, allowing two runs over five innings but was tagged with the loss. Mike Stiles allowed one run in relief, while Mike Lazos fired two shutout innings in the eighth and ninth.
They just didn’t get much going offensively. They were shutout on four hits. New Jersey-native Giovanni Ciaccio was the lone Shark with two hits.
The two teams will be back in action today at 2 pm. The likely starter is 2019 Axcess Cy Young Award winner Joshua Loeschorn.
St. John’s dropped their season opener, 10-1, to Kennesaw State to kick off the Mike Hampton-era for the Johnnies. Starter Nick Mondak allowed two runs (0 ER) over five innings, but the bullpen struggled, allowing eight ER after his departure. The game was close, 2-1, until the bottom of the sixth inning, but the big blow came on a three-run shot by Alex Carballo.
The Red Storm’s lone run came in the top of the sixth on an RBI ground out by Justin Folz.
Brandon Miller had two hits for the Johnnies. Another note from this game is that two-time Carl Yastrzemski Award winner Brian Morrell batted fifth and was the starting DH but did not compile a hit in his debut. Freshman Jake Lazzaro came in for defense in the ninth inning.
Fordham didn’t start the season as they’d like. They lost 20-7 to Florida International down in Miami. FIU put up crooked numbers in the first, second, third, fourth, seventh and eighth innings. They crushed 16 hits, with Jarrett Ford leading the way with four hits.
Mike Mikulski was tagged with the loss for the Rams. Every Rams pitcher allowed at least two ER.
If there’s any silver lining, Jason Coules did have three RBI – including a two-run HR. Jake MacKenzie also homered for the Rams.
The two teams will be back in action tonight at 6 pm.
