Sugar Land, TX –
Mark Faello pitched a complete game four-hitter in the opener and
Sean Flaherty had a two-run double as Hofstra took game one of a doubleheader at Houston Baptist, 3-1, Friday afternoon at Constellation Field. The Pride rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the top of the ninth inning in game two to tie the score before the Huskies won, 4-3, on a balk call in the bottom of the inning.
The Pride is 1-1 on the year with the split, while Houston Baptist moved to 1-6. The Hofstra victory was also the first in the Hofstra career for Head Coach
Frank Catalanotto.
Hofstra scored all it would need in the fifth as
Ryan Morash hit a one-out single and stole second. After a fly out,
Brian Morrell drew a two-out walk. Flaherty, who was making his return after missing 2021 with an injury, laced a 0-1 pitch down the right field line for a double that plated two.
The Huskies cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the inning as Kevin Ortiz scored on a wild pitch.
Kevin Bruggeman would get the run back for Hofstra in the top of the seventh as he launched an opposite field solo home run to right-center.
Faello (1-0) notched his first career complete game as he went all seven innings, striking out five batters. Ethan Abbott (0-2) took the loss, allowing four hits and two runs in 4 2/3 innings of work.
Bruggeman finished with a pair of hits for the Pride in game one, while Morash, Morrell, Flaherty, and
Anthony Fontana also collected base hits.
In game two, the Huskies scored three first inning runs off
John Mikolaicyk before the Pride's hurler settled down. Hofstra would enter the ninth inning trailing 3-1 before rallying to tie the game. Flaherty hit his second double of the day to lead off and pinch-runner
Matt Pelcher advanced to third on a ground out.
Steve Harrington came up as a pinch-hitter and tied the score with a home run to right field. The Pride got the go-ahead run to second with one out as
Anthony D'Onofrio singled and stole second, but Andrew Reitmeyer struck out the next two batters to escape the inning.
Brennen Bales led off the bottom of the ninth with a double off reliever
Michael O'Hanlon and pinch-runner Lane Botkin went to third on a sacrifice bunt. The Pride elected to intentionally walk Logan Letney to set up the double play. However, O'Hanlon (0-1) was called for a balk by the home plate umpire, allowing Botkin to score the winning run.
Mikolaicyk, who allowed three runs on four hits in the first inning, found his groove after that and went 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits with 10 strikeouts. Reitmeyer (1-0) picked up the win in relief for the Huskies.
D'Onofrio was 3-4 in game two for the Pride, while
Santino Rosso had a pair of hits in five at-bats.
The teams will conclude the series Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (CST).
Notes:
-The win was Coach Catalanotto's first Division I victory after he compiled a 46-21 in two seasons at New York Tech, including a Division II College World Series appearance in 2019.
-Harrington's pinch-hit home run was the second of his career as he had a two-run shot off the bench against Rhode Island in a 5-4 win on April 3, 2021.
-Hofstra's game one win was its first win in a season-opener since 2002.
-Mikolaicyk's 10 strikeouts were a career-best.
-Faello's seven innings of work were a career-high.
-The series pits a pair of former Major League Baseball stars against each other as Coach Catalanotto enjoyed a 14-year career in the majors from 1997 to 2011, and Houston Baptist Head Coach Lance Berkman, who is also in his first year, played 15 seasons between 1999 and 2013. The pair combined for 3,144 games played in the majors.
