Hofstra baseball walks off again, this time as CAA champions
Hofstra poses after winning the CAA baseball championship game against Northeastern on Sunday, May 29, 2022, in Elon, N.C. Credit: Abbey Lipcsic
They did it again.
Hofstra in a walk-off!
This time, though, the stakes were much higher, as Hofstra walked off with the Colonial Athletic Association baseball championship.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Ryan Morash was hit by a 1-and-0 pitch, forcing home Brian Morrell with the winning run to give Hofstra a 7-6 victory over Northeastern in the CAA Tournament championship game in Elon, North Carolina.
For the ninth time this season, Hofstra walked off with a victory over a stunned opponent, and for the first time in the long history of the Hofstra baseball program, the Pride lifted the CAA championship trophy. Hofstra, seeded third in the tournament, won four straight games by one run, including three in walk-off fashion.
Hofstra improved to 30-21 with its ninth consecutive victory and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. The Pride will find out their seeding and opponent at the NCAA Selection Show on Monday at noon. The selection show will air on ESPN2.
Morrell led off the bottom of the ninth with a double off the top of the left-centerfield wall. After an intentional walk to Steve Harrington, with two outs, Santino Rosso walked to load the bases and set the stage for Morash, who was hit on the left elbow guard.
“We were ecstatic, and dogpiled on second base to soak in the moment,” said reliever Zack Bailey, who pitched out of a ninth-inning jam to earn the win.
Bailey came on after Hofstra surrendered a two-run lead in the top of the ninth. He entered with runners on second and third and one out in a 6-6 tie to face Northeastern’s two most dangerous hitters, Danny Crossen and Justin Boslend. He induced a groundout and an infield pop-up to end the threat.
“I knew I was going to do my job,” said Bailey, who transferred from Northeastern to Hofstra after his freshman season. “I was so pumped up to go into such a big spot. I felt great at that moment. I had gone to our pitching coach [Chris] Rojas and told him I could shut them down. And he believed in me.”
Bailey had thrown only three innings all season and had allowed only two baserunners with a 0.00 ERA. Rojas greeted Bailey with a big hug.
Notes & quotes: Hofstra is the first school since Delaware in 2017 to go undefeated in the CAA tournament, as the Pride went 4-0 . . . Morrell was 4-for-5, including two doubles and two runs scored, and Harrington hit his seventh home run of the season . . . Starter Brad Camarda was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the tournament and was joined on the All-Championship Team by Morrell, Kennedy, Rosso and pitcher Mark Faello.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
