Hempstead, NY –
Chris Weiss came out of the bullpen to get Hofstra out of a bases loaded jam in the seventh inning to preserve a 3-1 lead and the Pride broke things open in the seventh on the way to an 11-1 victory over Delaware at University Field Saturday. The win gives Hofstra a series win over the Blue Hens going into Sunday's finale.
Hofstra improved to 14-9 overall and 4-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Delaware slipped to 13-14 overall and 2-3 in league play.
Starting pitchers
Matt Weissheier and Kyle Hinton matched zeros for the first three innings before the Pride struck in the bottom of the fourth.
Teddy Cillis and
Mikey Riesner singled and came in to score on
Daniel Page's double, which missed being a home run by six inches.
Delaware got on the board in the sixth as Austin Niggebrugge doubled home Nick Patten. That put runners on second and third, but
Matt Weissheier induced a pair of infield lineouts to escape any further damage.
The Pride played small ball in the bottom of the sixth to plate a third run. Cillis led off with a double and went to third on a sacrifice bunt from
Rob Weissheier. After an infield out, Cillis came home on a wild pitch from Hinton.
The Blue Hens loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh off of
Michael James, but Weiss came out of the pen and escaped the jam by retiring the heart of the Delaware order with a two strikeouts and a foul out.
Hofstra added six runs in the seventh to pull away, scoring on a wild pitch, an RBI single from
Steven Foster, an RBI groundout from
Vito Friscia and a three-run home run from
Rob Weissheier.
Matt Weissheier improved to 2-3 on the season after allowing one run on five hits in six innings of work. Weiss pitched the final three innings for his fifth save.
Hinton (3-3) took the loss after allowing five runs on five hits in six innings. He did strike out 10 batters.
The teams conclude the series Sunday at 1 p.m.
Notes:
-Delaware's run ended a drought of 14 1/3 innings in the series.
-Cillis was walked intentionally in the seventh for the second time in the series.
-Hofstra's 14
th win matches its win total from last season.
-Six of Hofstra's nine starters had hits.
- The Pride defeated the Blue Hens in the first two games of their series for the first time since 2012