Baseball Falls at Hofstra, 9-3

(boxscore)

4/4/06 -- Long Island scattered six hits but left 11 runners stranded in a 9-3 loss to Hofstra on Tuesday afternoon in Hempstead, N.Y.

The Blackbirds got the first run on the board in the first frame, capitalizing on a pair of Pride errors and a wild pitch. Lead-off batter Sean Durkin (Damascus, Md.) reached on an error by third baseman Ricky Caputo and advanced to second on a throwing error by the first baseman Steve Oliveri.

Following an out, Durkin advanced to third on a fielder's choice and scored on a wild pitch to give LIU the early 1-0 advantage.

The lead was short-lived as the Pride responded in the bottom frame, scoring a trio of runs. Nick Panzarella roped a two-out double to left scoring two runs and Oliveri followed with a single to score Panzarella.

Hofstra added two more runs in the second and three in the fourth.

LIU put up one run in the fifth when Durkin, who again reached on an error, scored on a miscue by the Pride shortstop to pull to 8-2.

The Blackbirds showcased their biggest threat in the eighth with the bases loaded and no outs. Orlando Cruz (White Plains, N.Y) commenced the inning with a walk and Danny Etkin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) followed with a single up the middle. The next batter, Marcus Wynn (Plainfield, N.J.) drilled a seeing-eye single off of reliefer Eric Corkery to load the bases.

Anthony Sarno entered the game on the mound for the Pride, striking out the next two batters and allowing just one run to score.

LIU travels to Central Connecticut State this weekend for a three-game series.