Albuquerque, NM – Hofstra staged ninth inning rallies in both ends of the doubleheader only to see New Mexico win in the bottom of the ninth in each game as the Pride dropped both games Saturday at Santa Ana Star Field. Hofstra lost game one, 14-13, and game two, 11-10.
Hofstra fell to 3-10 on the season while New Mexico moves to 12-4.
In the opener the Pride scored four runs in the ninth to take a 13-11 lead before New Mexico stormed back with three runs in the bottom half for the victory.
Kevin Bruggeman had a two-run double in the inning and
Austin Gauthier had a two-run triple. Hofstra pitcher
Mark Faello (0-1) retired the leadoff batter in the bottom of the inning but then allowed four straight batters to reach on a pair of singles, a hit batsman, and a bases-loaded walk that made it 13-12. He then got the second out before giving way to
Lucas Hall. Hall uncorked a wild pitch that allowed the tying run to score. He then walked the next two batters with Kyle Landers drawing a bases-loaded free pass to force in the winning run.
Bruggeman went 3-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored while Gauthier was 3-5 with a triple, a home run, two runs, and four RBIs.
Sean Flaherty was 3-4 with two runs scored,
Ryan Morash was 3-4 with an RBI and three runs scored, and
Vinnie Costello went 2-3 with a home run and two RBIs.
In the nightcap, Hofstra scored seven runs in the ninth to overcome a 10-3 deficit and tie the score before the Lobos came right back and scored the winning run in the bottom of the inning following a two-out rally. Kemue Thomas-Rivera drove in the winning run with a single.
The Pride took a 3-0 lead after the top of the third behind a two-run home run from Costello and a solo blast from
Rob Weissheier. New Mexico would score 10 unanswered to go into the final frame with a comfortable 10-3 advantage. However, no lead was safe in this series and the Pride erupted for seven runs to match their season-high for runs in an inning. Singles from
Ryan Morash,
Alex Sica, and
Myles Mensah produced one run and a bases loaded groundout from
Brian Goulard plated a second.
Anthony D'Onofrio followed with a two-run double to make it a 10-7 game. Weissheier walked and Flaherty came through with an RBI single. Morash would tie the game with a double to left center.
Hofstra reliever
Mike Mirando (0-1) got the first two batters out to start the bottom of the ninth before Shane Podsednik singled. Pinch runner Ethan Barker stole second and came in on Thomas-Rivera's single.
Alex Sica went 3-4 for the Pride. Mensah was 2-4 with an RBI while Morash was 2-4 with two RBIs and two runs. Gauthier had two hits as well.
Hofstra returns to action Wednesday when it hosts LIU in its home opener. Game time is set for 3 p.m.
Notes:
-Hofstra lost all three games in the series by one run and all three games were decided in the bottom of the ninth inning.
-Gauthier has reached base in all 13 games.
-Hofstra had 29 hits on the day.
-The Pride is now 0-5 all-time versus New Mexico.
