A career day at the plate from left fielder Matt Brown-Eiring led Stony Brook baseball past Hofstra to grab win number 20 on the year.
The Seawolves (20-22) were able to win the baseball edition of the Battle of Long Island, 15-7 over the Hofstra Pride on Wednesday, May 4. The two teams had not played each other since April 2010 but will be getting very familiar with one another starting next year. Stony Brook gave Hofstra a solid sneak peek of what to expect, as it beat up Pride pitching all day en route to a big win.
Scoring started in the top of the first when Hofstra’s lineup compiled four straight softly-hit singles off of starter Devin Sharkey. Sharkey was able to limit the damage to just two runs, aided by a 6-4-3 double play.
Then came the Stony Brook bats. After a leadoff walk to third baseman Evan Giordano, second baseman Evan Fox doubled him home. Then, on the very first pitch he saw, Brown-Eiring pulled a two-run homer to left field.
It didn’t take long for Brown-Eiring to do more damage. In the very next inning, Brown-Eiring untorqued a three-run double up the left-center field gap. In just two innings, Brown-Eiring had plated five to spot Stony Brook a 6-2 lead.
Hofstra drew closer as the game went on, tying it at 7-7 in the top of the fifth. However, the Pride could not hold the Seawolves’ bats at bay.
With two men aboard, an errant pickoff throw put runners on second and third. Giordano then broke the tie with a sacrifice fly and Stony Brook went up 8-7. After that, the Seawolves ran away with it.
In the sixth inning, Brown-Eiring took Pride lefty Aljo Sujak deep to dead-center field for his second home run of the game. It was Brown-Eiring’s first career multi-homer game and also the first multi-homer game by a Seawolf in 2022. It also gave him six RBIs on the day, which was a new career-high for Brown-Eiring. It was the most RBIs in a game by a Seawolf since Casey Baker on opening day of 2016.
“I just felt great today,” Brown-Eiring said. “Personally, I haven’t been playing up to my standard, and that’s part of my job to come out here and do that.”
He capped off his day with a single in the bottom of the seventh, giving himself a career-high four hits. The Seawolves scored four more in that inning, starting with a two-run double from Giordano, who had three RBIs on the day.
Giordano is coming off of a huge roadtrip in which he went 13-for-25 (.520) and led Stony Brook to a pair of series victories. He also won a Player of the Week award two weeks ago.
“I think I’m seeing it well. I tried to make a little adjustment with my hands and keep them back a little bit more,” Giordano said. “I think it’s really helped me.”
The game was over after the seventh, but two more runs in the eighth put the icing on the cake for Stony Brook. The offense collected 14 hits and nine walks, and even got some production from players off the bench. While the offense poured it on, relievers Josh O’Neill and Jack Carr combined for three hitless innings in relief to slam the door on Hofstra.
“It was cool knowing that not only can we beat this team, but we can do very well against a team in the CAA,” Giordano said.
Head coach Matt Senk was pleased with his team’s performance, as they sent a good message towards their future conference rivals.
“I think the thing that stands out by playing them today is that we’re making our move to the CAA and that they’ve been in it for a while,” he said. “We’re glad to get the win.”
Despite the circumstances surrounding this game, it was just another game for Senk.
“It isn’t anything that I’ve really thought of in that way. I’m happy we got the win because we’ve struggled so much in mid-week games,” he said.
