HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. ? One day after suffering a 17-8 loss to the Tigers (23-21, 8-9), Hofstra University (7-29, 3-17) exploded for 12 runs in the first four innings to hand the Tigers a 16-7 Colonial Athletic Association loss in the second game of their CAA weekend series at University Field on Saturday afternoon.

With the victory, Hofstra snapped its eight-game losing streak while Towson lost for only the second time in their last seven games.

After blasting seven home runs and banging out 20 hits in the series opener, the Tigers were handcuffed by senior righthander Bobby Neelon through the first four innings. Neelon, who earned his first win of the season, shut out Towson on two hits while his teammates were building a 12-run lead.

The Tigers were forced to come from behind almost immediately. Senior rightfielder Mark Stuckless led off the bottom of the first inning for Hofstra by blasting a solo home run to centerfield. His fifth homer of the season marked the third time this year that he led off a game with a homer.

The Pride added three more runs in the third inning. With one out, junior third baseman Matt Prokopowicz drew a walk. When senior shortstop Chris Mentrasti bounced a double down the left field line, Prokopowicz scored all the way from first base for a 2-0 lead. Mentrasti advanced to third base on a wild pitch while sophomore righthander Drew Permison was issuing a walk to junior leftfielder John Kenny. After Kenny stole second base, senior catcher Elliot Hagburg lined a two-run single to right, giving the Pride a 4-0 advantage.

Hofstra broke the game open in the fourth inning, scoring eight runs on six hits to take a 12-0 lead. With one out, Stuckless started the rally with a double to left centerfield. When senior second baseman Tom Legregni singled to leftfield, Stuckless moved to third base and Permison was relieved by junior righthander John Schmeer. When Schmeer walked Prokopowicz, Hofstra had the bases loaded with one out. After Schmeer hit Mentrasti with a pitch, Stuckless scored to give Hofstra 5-0 lead.

A two-run single to left center by Kenny upped the lead to 7-0 and brought sophomore righthander Charlie Cononie in to pitch. A walk to freshman designated hitter Jim Best re-loaded the bases. When Hagburg hit an opposite field single to right, the Pride scored two more runs for a 9-0 lead. A sacrifice fly by senior centerfielder Nick Panzarella gave Hofstra a 10-0 advantage. When senior first baseman Adam Perlo doubled down the rightfield line, Hagburg scored to increase the lead to 11-0. An RBI single by Stuckless drove in Perlo to make it 12-0 after four innings.

With one out in the fifth inning, senior catcher Jason Stifler blasted a home run over the centerfield fence to put the Tigers on the scoreboard. His tenth homer of the season cut the deficit to 12-1.

Stifler's home run was the 24^th of his college career, moving him into 14^th place on Towson's career list.

In the sixth inning, the Tigers added three more runs to make it a 12-4 game. Junior centerfielder Kevin Collins led off the inning with a walk. With one out, senior first baseman Matt Collins lined his 20^th double of the season to right centerfield, scoring his brother from first base. With two outs, sophomore second baseman Chris Wychock doubled down the leftfield line as Matt Collins scored. When senior leftfielder Aaron Gabrielian singled to right, Wychock scored to make it 12-4.

The Pride responded by scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out, Hagburg drew a walk and Panzarella singled. A walk to Stuckless loaded the bases with two outs before Legreni lined a two-run double to left, making it a 14-4 advantage.

When Neelon walked freshman rightfielder Ben Winter to lead off the seventh inning, he was relieved by sophomore lefthander Scott A'Hara.  Neelon pitched his best game of the season as he allowed four runs on six hits with three walks and one strikeout.

Mentrasti led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a double for Hofstra. He advanced to third base when Kenny grounded out to second base and he scored on a sacrifice fly by Best. Hagburg increased the lead to 16-4 when he belted his second home run of the season over the left centerfield fence.

In the eighth inning, sophomore Austin Harclerode led off with a double off the left field fence. When Wychock was hit by a pitch, the Tigers had two runners on base with no outs. Stifler's second base hit of the game, an RBI single to centerfield, pulled Towson to within 16-5. With two outs, Helmick doubled to right centerfield, making the score 16-7. A walk to Kevin Collins kept the rally alive before junior third baseman Steve Yarsinsky flew out to right, ending the threat.

Helmick went 2-for-5 with two RBI's for the Tigers, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. With 229 career base hits, he moved into fifth place on Towson's all-time list of base hit leaders.

Harclerode and Stifler also had a pair of hits for Towson while Stifler scored two runs and had two RBI's.

Hofstra, which out-hit Towson by a 16-10 margin, was led by Hagburg, who had three hits and five RBI's. Stuckless was 3-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs while Perlo also added three hits.

Permison suffered the loss for the Tigers as he allowed six runs on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work. He also threw two wild pitches.

Three Tiger pitchers allowed seven walks in the game.

Towson and Hofstra conclude their three-game series on Sunday afternoon at 12:00 noon.