When you’re hot, you’re hot! Junior designated hitter Vito Friscia smacked an opposite field, walk-off HR in the tenth inning to give Hofstra a dramatic 9-8 victory over Albany in 10 innings.
Trailing 7-1 in the seventh inning, things were looking bleak for Hofstra if they had any hopes of extending their eight-game win streak. That was until a four-run seventh inning and two in the eighth tied the game up and made it a new ball game. Albany re-gained the lead in the top of the ninth, but once again Hofstra answered back in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI single by Justin Smith to score Daniel Page.
After Chris Weiss fired a scoreless top of the tenth, Friscia led off the home half of the tenth with the moonshot to deliver the Pride their ninth consecutive victory in the first game of the non-conference double header.
Oddly enough, the game began as a pitcher’s duel between Hofstra ace LHP John Rooney in front of a litany of scouts. The big southpaw was coming off a no-hitter last week and has seen his draft stock rise considerably since his performance in the Cape Cod League last summer. His fastball was in the 88-90 MPH range most of his outing.
After the leadoff batter reached on an error, Brad Malm (Pat-Med 2017) hit a wind blown triple down the right field line to give the Great Danes the early 1-0. Rooney settled in after that, but his counterpart, Brendan Smith, was dominant through four inning, holding the Pride hitless.
Rooney cracked a bit in the sixth, allowing four ER on an overthrown pickoff throw and RBI hits from Marc Wangenstein (Connetquot 2016) and Pat Lagravinese (Smithtown East 2016).
The Pride got on the board in the sixth inning on a wild pitch that scored Steven Foster to cut the lead to 5-1.
Albany then extended their lead to 7-1 in the seventh inning on a two-run single by Kenny Hayden. At that moment, the game appeared to be out of reach. In the bottom of the seventh, however, the Pride put together a rally. Freshman Austin Gauthier ripped a two-run single to chase Smith. The reliever, Ray Weber (West Islip 2016) was greeted rudely by Friscia who muscled a two-run single to center to cut the lead to 7-5. Smith and Gauthier followed with RBI singles to tie the game at 7-7 and send the home crowd into a frenzy.
Connor Powers ripped a solo shot to right field in the ninth off closer Chris Weiss and it looked like that could be the difference in the game, but once again, the Pride answered in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Justin Smith to score Rob Weissheier.
Weiss did his job to hold the Great Danes at bay in the tenth to give his offense a chance to scratch a run across in the home half and that’s exactly what they did. With the victory, the Pride improved to 9-2 on the season.
It was an incredible game of baseball with many twists. From a pitcher’s duel with a potential first-round pick to an extra inning slug fest–this game did not disappoint the many fans who stayed the three-and-a-half hours.
