Hempstead, NY - The Hofstra University baseball team, under the direction of first-year Head Coach Frank Catalanotto, opens the 2022 season Friday afternoon at Houston Baptist University. Due to the forecast of bad weather, the series has been changed to a doubleheader on Friday with a 12 p.m. (CST) first pitch followed by a single game on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (CST). The games have been moved from Houston Baptist's on-campus field to Constellation Field, the home of the AAA Sugar Land Space Cowboys.
 
All three games will be streamed live on the Husky Sports Network and live statistics are also available. Links for both can be found above or on the baseball schedule page on GoHofstra.com.

The series will pit a pair of former Major League Baseball stars against each other as Coach Catalanotto enjoyed a 14-year career in the majors from 1997 to 2011, and Houston Baptist Head Coach Lance Berkman, who is also in his first year, played 15 seasons between 1999 and 2013. The pair combined for 3,144 games played in the majors. Prior to coaching at Hofstra, Catalanotto spent two years at New York Tech and took the Bears to the Division II College World Series in 2019. Berkman coached at the high school level before spending the past two seasons as an assistant at the University of St. Thomas.

Hofstra is coming off a 17-22 season in 2021. The Pride returns 28 players from that team and welcome 12 newcomers. Leading the returnees are Preseason All-CAA selection Will Kennedy and Ryan Morash. Kennedy, an outfielder, batted .284 last season with two home runs and 15 RBIs, while Morash saw action in a utility role and batted a team-best .339 with 11 stolen bases. Pitchers Brad Camarda and Mark Faello each posted 2-1 records last season and are the veteran leaders of the staff.

Houston Baptist is currently 0-5 on the season. The Huskies dropped three games to Rutgers followed by losses to in-state rivals Baylor and Rice.

This will be the first-ever meeting between Hofstra and Houston Baptist.