Bronx, NY – Fordham scored an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth inning to snap a 6-6 tie and made the run hold up in a 7-6 victory over Hofstra Tuesday evening at Houlihan Park.
Hofstra fell to 4-9 on the season, while the Rams improved to 6-12.
The Rams scored twice in the first and twice in the second and then added two more runs in the fourth to take a 6-0 lead before Hofstra got its first hit. Matthew Kozuch drove in a run in the first, two in the second and one more in the fourth to pace the Rams offense.
The Pride got on the board in the fifth as
David Leiderman drew a leadoff walk and went to second on a groundout. Two batters later,
Brad Witkowski delivered a two-out single to score Leiderman and cut the deficit to five.
Hofstra erased the deficit completely in the sixth, scoring five times to tie the score.
Steven Foster got the inning started with a leadoff single and stole second.
Brett Johnson walked and both runners moved up on an infield out.
Brian MacDonald then came through with an infield single to drive in Foster. Leiderman singled to plate Johnson and cut the deficit to three. After loading the bases on a
Mat Annunziata single, MacDonald would score on a wild pitch before Witkowski continued his big day with a two-run single that tied the score.
But the Rams struck right back as Ian Edmiston singled off reliever
Cody Olsen (0-1) to lead off the inning and advanced to second on an infield out. An infield single put runners on first and second before Charles Galiano reached on an error that allowed Edmiston to score what proved to be the winning run.
Hofstra put the leadoff man on in the seventh as Foster singled, but was then caught stealing.
Dalton Rouleau had a two-out single in the inning as well, but the Pride could not move him around the bases. Rams reliever David Manasek (1-2) allowed just one baserunner over the final two innings to pick up his first win of the season.
Witkowski finished the day 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Leiderman had a single to up his hitting streak to nine games and also drove in a run and scored twice. Foster had two hits in the leadoff spot and scored a run as well.
Olsen took the loss after allowing two hits and the unearned run in 2/3 of an inning.
Hofstra is back in action this weekend at Delaware in a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series. First pitch on Friday is 3 p.m.
