Tribe right fielder Chris Rahl went 4-for-5 with his 13th homerun as The College of William and Mary defeated the Hofstra Pride, 9-3, Friday afternoon in a Colonial Athletic Association game at University Field. Pride second baseman Ricky Caputo went 2-for-3 with an RBI, but Hofstra (8-16, 2-5 CAA) dropped the first game of this CAA series. Sophomore lefty Forrest Cory threw 7.2 innings for the Tribe (23-9, 4-3 CAA), scattering five hits, striking out five, and allowing three runs.
The Tribe struck first in the second inning as shortstop Kyle Padgett doubled to right field followed by a single down the right field line from third baseman John Lentz, which brought home Padgett. Left fielder Ben Keeton then singled through the right side and Chris Rahl doubled, scoring Lentz.
The Pride put a run on the board in the third as third baseman Andrew Campana doubled down the left field line and was bunted to third by shortstop Josh Stern. Center fielder Josh Stewart drove in Campana with a groundout.
William and Mary would put two more runs up in both the fifth and seventh innings. In the fifth, Keeton singled and first baseman Greg Sexton homered. In the seventh, center fielder Terry Revere singled to third and Rahl clubbed his 13th home run of the season, a two-run shot to right field. Hofstra would close the gapto 6-3 in the eighth, as left fielder Eugene Brooks and Stern walked, and Caputo singled up the middle scoring Brooks. Cory was relieved by Bill Bray, and Pride designated hitter Mike Perullo greeted him with a single to right field, scoring Stern.
Hofstra starter David Huth (2-3) came out to pitch the ninth, but did not last long as he was replaced by John Fuhrman after allowing the first two batters in the inning to reach base (a double and a hit batsman). Huth pitched eight innings, gave up eight runs, 11 hits, and struck out one. After Fuhrman entered the game, Rahl singled to left center, bringing home Revere. Keeton scored on a wild pitch as Rahl advanced to second. Catcher Mike DeCarlo then singled through the left side, scoring Rahl.
Cory (6-2) earned the win, while Bray earned his fourth save.
These two teams will meet tomorrow in game two of this Colonial Athletic Association series at 2 p.m. at University Field.
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