HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (Apr. 20, 2011) – A late ninth inning rally fell short as NYIT baseball fell 11-3 at Hofstra Wednesday afternoon. With the loss, the Bears dropped to 7-18 on the season, while the Pride improved to 10-20 overall.

 

The win was awarded to Everett Keller (1-1), his first of the year. Keller struck out a game-high five batters and surrendered just one hit in three innings of work. The loss went to Ryan Dillabough (Whitby, Ontario). He tossed one inning and surrendered four runs on three hits, all unearned. Dillabough bumped to 2-3 on the year.

 

NYIT’s bullpen got some work as seven different pitchers appeared on the mound. Rookie LHP Nick Arevalo (Westbury, N.Y.) closed out the game with one inning of no-hit ball, the only Bear to retire the Pride 1-2-3.

 

The Bears defense struggled in the first inning as they committed four errors and quickly fell behind 4-0. The Pride made it a 5-0 game in the second as centerfielder Danny Poma scored on a groundout.

 

Designated hitter Ali Rodriguez (Yorktown, Va.) was the first Bear to get on base in the game during the top of the fourth. He was hit by a pitch in the leadoff spot. Although he was left stranded, it was a start for NYIT who ended the no-hitter in the fifth as leftfielder Dan Lackner (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) singled through the left side.

 

Rookie Rob Cafiero (Bethpage, N.Y.) produced one of the better opportunities for the Bears with a long fly ball in the sixth inning. However, Scott A’Hara made the play in the right field corner for the first out of the inning. Rodriguez quickly got on base with a single up the middle but was left on as Michael Iglesias (Bronx, N.Y.) flew out and Jerry Smith (Nesconset, N.Y.) struck out to close the top of the inning.

 

All the while, Hofstra tacked on three runs in the fourth inning, a solo run in the sixth and a pair in the seventh to claim an 11-0 advantage.

 

The Bears ended the shutout in the eighth inning on an RBI groundout from sophomore Rodriguez. He plated second baseman Steve McNamara (Levittown, N.Y.) got on with a leadoff double.

 

NYIT’s bats then came alive in the ninth inning with five hits. Smith added on a run for the Bears on a Vin Caposio (Long Island City, N.Y.) single up the middle. Caposio then moved into scoring position on a solid hit from Lackner. The catcher scored his first run of the year on a two-out base hit blast from McNamara.

 

In a record’s book update, in his final at bat of the game senior Effrey Valdez (Flushing, N.Y.) increased his and the school’s career hits tally to 275.

 

NYIT returns to action with a four-game series against North Dakota this weekend. Play begins with a doubleheader on Friday, Apr. 22 with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. A second doubleheader is scheduled for Saturday, Apr. 23 at Noon.

 

About NYIT

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees in more than 90 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has more than 15,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

 

Led by President Edward Guiliano, NYIT is guided by its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, offer access to opportunity to all qualified students, and support applications-oriented research that benefits the larger world. To date, 85,000 graduates have received degrees from NYIT. For more information, visit nyit.edu.

 

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Sabrina Polidoro

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Sports Information Director

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