BB: Hofstra Travels To Towson For CAA Series This Weekend

Hempstead, NY – The Hofstra Baseball team travels to Towson, Maryland, this weekend for a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series against the Tigers of Towson University. Hofstra will be looking for its first CAA wins of the season after opening conference play with a pair of losses at William & Mary. Towson will be opening CAA play against the Pride. Game times at Schuerholz Park are 3 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

Hofstra enters the series with a 6-19 overall mark and is coming off a 5-4 loss at Fairfield on Wednesday. Ryan Karl leads the Pride with a .280 average, while Stephen Foster is batting .271 with six stolen bases. Teddy Cillis is also batting .271 and is tied for the team lead with four home runs. Nick Bottari has four home runs as well, along with 17 RBIs and a .267 average. Vito Friscia has a .265 average and a .453 on-base percentage due in large part to his team and CAA-high 24 walks. Mat Annunziata is batting .263 with three home runs and a team-leading 22 RBIs. On the mound, Bowie Matteson has a 1-2 record along with a 2.61 ERA that ranks fourth in the CAA. John Rooney leads the team and is sixth in the league with 31 strikeouts.

Towson is 9-16 on the season and lead the all-time series with Hofstra, 53-31. Towson won two of three games last season, including one of the wildest game in Hofstra history in the series finale as Hofstra scored 13 runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the score at 16 before Towson scored four in the 10th and held off a Pride rally to post a 20-19 win. The Tigers have won three consecutive games and are coming off an 8-7 win over Mount St. Mary's this past Wednesday. Brady Policelli and Richie Palacios have been Towson's top offensive players with .362 and .349 averages, respectively. Policelli leads the team with three home runs and 21 RBIs, while Palacios as a home run, 14 RBIs and a CAA-best 19 stolen bases. Kyle Stricker has a 4-1 record and a save in eight appearances for the Tigers. Dean Stramara paces the Tigers staff with 27 strikeouts in his seven appearances.

Pitching matchups for the series are as follows:
Friday: Chris Weiss (1-1, 4.76 ERA) vs. Skyler Morris (0-1, 5.14)
Saturday: Bowie Matteson (1-2, 2.61) vs. Austin Clark (0-2, 4.91)
Sunday: John Rooney (1-3, 5.19) vs. Kevin Ross (1-3, 6.00)

Following the series against Towson, Hofstra will play one more road game, at Saint Peter's on Wednesday, before starting a string of eight consecutive games at home. The Pride has played just two home games so far this season.

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Players Mentioned

#25 Mat Annunziata: OF; 6' 1"; Sophomore; R/R

#29 Bowie Matteson: P; 6' 3"; Senior; R/R

#12 Chris Weiss: P; 5' 10"; Sophomore; R/R

#14 Nick Bottari: C/IF; 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R

#15 Ryan Karl: IF/OF; 6' 2"; Senior; L/R

#16 Teddy Cillis: OF/P; 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore; L/L

#27 Vito Friscia: C; 6' 3"; Freshman; R/R

#45 John Rooney: P; 6' 5"; Freshman; L/L

Players Mentioned

#25 Mat Annunziata
: 6' 1"; Sophomore; R/R
: OF

#29 Bowie Matteson
: 6' 3"; Senior; R/R
: P

#12 Chris Weiss
: 5' 10"; Sophomore; R/R
: P

#14 Nick Bottari
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R
: C/IF

#15 Ryan Karl
: 6' 2"; Senior; L/R
: IF/OF

#16 Teddy Cillis
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore; L/L
: OF/P

#27 Vito Friscia
: 6' 3"; Freshman; R/R
: C

#45 John Rooney
: 6' 5"; Freshman; L/L
: P