The Pride moved the tying run to the plate as late as the seventh inning against Florida State but still fell to the sixth-ranked Seminoles, 10-4, in the final game of a season-opening four-game set at Dick Howser Stadium Sunday afternoon.
Senior second baseman Tom Legregni (Paramus, NJ, pictured) accounted for three Pride runs in a two-RBI effort in the matinee, though Hofstra still dropped to 0-4. Jason Stidham added a pair of RBI doubles and Stuart Tapley went 2-3 with a game-high three RBIs as the Seminoles improved to 4-0 after completing the series sweep.
Three first-inning Florida State doubles pushed two early runs across for the Seminoles against senior starter Nick Panzarella (Three Bridges, NJ). Stidham and Tapley lined consecutive RBI two-baggers and catcher Rafael Lopez added a two-run single in the second to give the Seminoles a 4-0 edge.
Legregni jump-started Hofstra's offense in the third, following Mark Stuckless' (Kanata, Ontario) leadoff single by lining a hard double that bounced off the right-centerfield wall for a RBI.
The infielder then generated another run on the base paths, stealing third base and cruising home on Lopez's throw that sailed into leftfield to cut the deficit to 4-2.
Sophomore Scott A'Hara (Downingtown, PA) did his best to support Panzarella in the fourth, making a full-extension backhanded diving catch in the left-center gap following a leadoff double. Despite the defensive support, Mike McGee and Stidham followed with back-to-back RBI doubles to chase Panzarella after 3 1/3 innings.
Panzarella, the Pride's regular centerfielder, was charged with six runs in falling to 0-1. McGee, who is the Seminoles usual slugging leftfielder, posted the quality start. The righty did not allow a runner past first base after the third, surrendering two runs (none earned) on five hits in six innings, improving to 1-0.
Florida State, a 2008 College World Series qualifier, tacked on one run in the sixth, though reliever Jeff Guthridge (Bel Air, MD) minimized the damage by inducing Ohmed Danesh to hit a bases-loaded fly out to left, keeping the score at 7-2 heading into the seventh. Guthridge, a junior, allowed just one run and two hits in 2 2/3 innings out of the bullpen.
Hofstra's patience at the plate paid off in the seventh when Florida State's Bo O'Dell walked the first two batters and gave up a single to load the bases. John Kenny (Franklin Square, NY) then worked a walk to force in a run, prompting Seminoles Head Coach Mike Martin to summon Brian Busch.
Busch forced a fly out to left before Legregni's fielder's choice plated A'Hara for Hofstra's second run of the inning. With runners on the corners, junior Matt Prokopowicz, the Pride's 2008 home run leader, stepped to the plate as the tying run in the seventh before Busch recorded the strikeout to keep it at 7-4.
That rally was the Pride's last salvo. Florida State broke the game open in a three-run seventh to secure the win for the four-time ACC champions.
Hofstra will next play Friday when its heads back south to take on North Carolina State for a three-game set. The Pride's home opener is set for March 7 with a doubleheader against Dartmouth.
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