Hofstra University, LIU advance to NCAA Division 1 Baseball Tournament
LONG ISLAND (WABC) -- For the first time in history, Hofstra University has secured a seat in the NCAA Division 1 Baseball Tournament after winning the Conference Championship on Sunday.
"When you get on a roll like we've been on lately that confidence just continues to build," Hofstra coach Frank Catalanotto said. "And like I said every single game we start we feel like we're going to win the game."
The clincher against Northeastern University wasn't only their second straight walk off win, but their third of the tournament and their 9th of the season.
Hofstra will travel to Chapel Hill to face the tenth-ranked North Carolina on Friday.
ALSO READ | NYC officials, businesses hoping for post-COVID pandemic summer of tourism
"There's so much fight in the guys and we just feel like we're going to win," Hofstra pitcher Bradley Camarda said. "Every 8th or 9th inning we feel like we're going to win. We score early and then we know at the end of the game we're going to score some more runs and put it away."
Hofstra will be joined at the top by the neighboring Long Island University Sharks. This will be the Sharks third time in the NCAA tournament after capturing the North Eastern Conference Championship. They face the University of Maryland's Terrapin's Friday.
"We've worked really hard all year just to get here and now we can almost taste it," LIU outfielder Mikey Edelman said. "We're just excited to get down there."
With these two teams moving forward it marks the first time in history six New York schools have reached the NCAA Division 1 Baseball Tournament.
"The excitement is huge they can't wait to play post season play and get back to going down to college park and seeing what we can do in that Maryland regional," LIU coach Dan Pirillo said.
----------
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a News Tip
