Kingston, RI - Hofstra banged out 17 hits on the day including three from
Rob Weissheier but Rhode Island had an answer for each Hofstra rally as the Pride fell to the Rams, 12-11, Friday afternoon at Bill Beck Field. Rhode Island scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead after Hofstra had gone ahead in the top of the inning.
Hofstra, which was playing for the first time since March 14, slipped to 7-6 on the season with the loss. Rhode Island improved to 11-10-1 with the win.
Hofstra got off to a fast start, scoring four runs in the top of the first. Weissheier had an RBI double and
Kevin Bruggeman delivered a two-run single in the inning. The Rams would get two runs back in the bottom of the inning and then take the lead, 5-4, with a three-run second. Josh Brodeur had an RBI double and Xavier Vargas added an RBI single in the inning.
Hofstra would tie the game in the fifth on an RBI single from
Ryan Morash, but the Rams charged right back in their half of the frame and retook the lead, 7-5, on Mark Coley's two-run double. The Pride surged ahead once again in the sixth, scoring four times with three runs coming in on
Brian Goulard's bases-clearing double that made it 9-7 in favor of Hofstra.
The lead would last until the bottom of the seventh when Rhode Island scored three times to go up, 10-9. The Rams loaded the bases and scored runs on a hit batter, a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch. However, there was no quit in the Pride as
Will Kennedy and Bruggeman had RBI singles in the eighth to put Hofstra back on top, 11-10.
Rhode Island, though, had the final answer and scored twice in the bottom half to take the lead for good. The Rams loaded the bases on a hit batter, a walk and an infield single ahead of a two-run single from Alex Santos. Trystan Levesque (2-0) retired the side in order in the ninth in his second inning of relief to earn the win.
Chris Mott (0-2), who pitched the eighth, took the loss for Hofstra.
Weissheier was 3-5 with an RBI and four runs scored. Hofstra also received two-hit games from
Austin Gauthier,
Anthony D'Onofrio, Goulard, Morash, Bruggeman, and
Aidan Larkin.
Coley had three hits for Rhode Island, while Brodeur and Santos had two hits each.
The teams will meet again Saturday in a doubleheader at Hofstra. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
Notes:
-Hofstra's 17 hits was its second-highest total of the season behind the 24 against Sacred Heart.
-Gauthier extended his on-base streak to 36 games dating back to the 2019 season.
-Morash has reached base in 20 consecutive games dating back to the 2020 season.
-Weissheier had two doubles and now has 35 for his career.
-Three RBIs in a game is a career-best for Bruggeman.
