Hempstead, NY- Virginia Commonwealth University's Brent Mikionis and Joe Van Meter each drove in three runs and the Rams scored seven runs in the ninth-inning as Hofstra fell, 13-5, in a Colonial Athletic Association matchup on Friday afternoon at University Field.
Senior John Kenny (Franklin Square, NY) went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored for the Pride. But Hofstra lost its fifth in a row, falling to 10-18 overall and 3-4 against the CAA.
Mikionis hit a two-run home run and Richie Gonzalez scored three runs to lift the first-place Rams to 19-15 and 9-1 in conference play. Seth Cutler-Voltz improved to 5-2, holding Hofstra to four runs (three earned) on 11 hits in eight innings.
Freshman Greg Lettini (Hempstead, NY) gave a strong showing out of the bullpen, holding VCU to just one hit in three scoreless innings. Lettini struck out one and did not allow a walk in his first appearance in six days.
The Rams jumped to a 4-0 third-inning lead. After Hofstra starter Sean Monaghan (East Meadow, NY) retired the first batter, VCU loaded the bases off a walk and two singles. John Lenherr ripped a RBI single to right to plate the first run before Mikionis drove in another run off a fielder's choice.
After third baseman Ethan Paquette's error allowed VCU to score its third run, Taylor Perkins capped the four-run rally with a RBI double to left-center. Hofstra responded in the bottom of the inning, getting its first run when freshman Matt Ford (Lansing, NY) scored from second off Cutler-Voltz's throwing error on a pickoff attempt that sailed wide of third. Ford finished 1-for-2 with a run scored, marking the 18th time in his last 19 games the shortstop has recorded at least one base hit.
Van Meter extended the Rams lead in the fourth, driving a run-scoring single to center. Lenherr singled up the middle and scored off a wild pitch, extending VCU's lead to 6-1. Monaghan (1-3) was charged with six runs on 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Kenny made it 6-2 in the bottom of the inning, hitting a leadoff double and eventually scoring off a wild pitch.
Hofstra came as close as 6-4 in the seventh after Kenny took Cutler-Voltz's offering to right-center for a two-run double. Cutler-Voltz would finish the inning and also tossed a scoreless eighth before the Rams scored seven times against three Pride pitchers.
Freshman Andrew Barbarino (Endwell, NY) retired the first batter in the ninth before a single preceded Mikionis two-run home run to left. Junior Jeff Guthridge (Bel Air, MD) entered after Barbarino walked one batter and hit another. Guthridge hit his first batter and Matt Leskiw worked a bases-loaded walk for another run.
Gonzalez's two-run single to right chased Guthridge. Van Meter's two-RBI single through the right side off freshman Cody Normand (North Kingstown, RI) capped the rally.
Hofstra will look to even the three-game series on Saturday when freshman David D'Errico (North Kingstown, RI) opposes left-hander Michael Graham, who is 3-3 with a 7.26 ERA. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
