Hempstead, NY - Brett Schreiber pitched four innings of two-hit relief and Hofstra manufactured three of its four runs as the Pride evened up their Colonial Athletic Association series at one game apiece with a 4-2 win Saturday afternoon at University Field.
Schreiber, who earned his ninth save, came on in the sixth inning with men on second and third and no outs and the score 4-2. He struck out his first batter before issuing a walk and then came back to strikeout the final two hitters in the inning. He would go on to strike out five of his first six batters faced and finished his four innings with seven strikeouts after getting two more in the ninth inning.
Hofstra scored single runs in the first, second, third and fifth innings. Matt Ford had a solo home run in the first inning to give the Pride a 1-0 lead. In the second, back-to-back singles from Eric Ferguson and Brian MacDonald put runners on the corners and David Leiderman drove in a run with a ground out to second for a 2-0 advantage.
Hofstra played small ball again in the third as Kenny Jackson walked, stole second, went to third on a Brad Witkowski single and scored on a sacrifice fly from TJ Ehrsam.
Charleston got on the board in the fifth as the Cougars strung together three consecutive hits with Bradley Jones' single knocking in Morgan Phillips. But the Pride answered back in the bottom of the frame with a two-out rally. Jackson and Witkowski had consecutive singles and Jackson stole third, setting up an RBI single from TJ Ehrsam.
The Cougars got a run back in the sixth as Nick Pappas scored on a fielder's choice.
Hofstra starter David D'Errico (3-2) picked up the win after allowing two runs on six hits in five innings. He struck out a season-high five batters. The win moved him into a tie for second place with John Bilello (1984-87) on Hofstra's all-time wins list with 16 career victories.
Hofstra's 12 total strikeouts on the day was a season best for the pitching staff. The Pride collected 11 hits on the day as eight of the nine starters recorded at least one base hit. Jackson, Witkowski and Ferguson each had two hits on the day. Ehrsam drove in a pair of runs.
Pappas and Jones each had two hits for the Cougars. Charleston starter Eric Bauer (4-1) took the loss after allowing four runs on 10 hits over 6 2/3 innings.
The teams play the rubber game of the three-game series Sunday at 11 a.m.
