Senior pitcher Alexis Alcantara (Levittown, PA/Notre Dame Academy - pictured) picked up a win and a save in relief as the top-seeded Hofstra Softball team advanced to the CAA Championship round with a pair of elimination game victories on Friday afternoon at Hofstra Softball Stadium.

Hofstra (32-19), which defeated Towson 7-5 and James Madison 3-0 when both teams left the bases loaded in the seventh, will need to defeat Delaware (29-22-1) twice to win its seventh straight conference title. Delaware, which defeated Hofstra 3-2 in Thursday's opening round, then knocked off James Madison 4-2 on Friday, needs just one win to capture its first conference title since 1984 in the East Coast Conference.

Alcantara threw a combined six innings of relief without allowing an earned run on the day. She came on in the sixth inning against Towson in the first game, allowing an unearned run and three hits while preserving the win for starter Callie Osborne (Oshawa, Ontario/St. Charles-Garnier), who won her eighth straight decision to improve to 12-3. Against James Madison, Alcantara again came on in the fourth inning in relief of Osborne, got out of a second-and-third, none-out jam, and threw four innings of one-hit relief to get the win.

In both games, Alcantara had to get the final out of the game with the bases loaded and the other team's top hitter at the plate. Against Towson, she struck out first-team All-CAA shortstop Katie Mumbauer (.315, 10 HR) looking to end the contest. Against James Madison, she was able to get junior outfielder Liz George (.374, 18-game hit streak) to ground out to third base. For her career, Alcantara is now 2-0 with three saves in five relief appearances in conference tournaments (including one win in the 2001 America East Tournament and two saves last year in the CAA Tournament).

In the first game of the day, sophomore second baseman Lisa Wambold (Hatboro, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) tied a school record with three doubles, including a pivotal two-run double in the sixth, and Hofstra tied a team record with seven doubles on its way to a 7-5 win over Towson.  Hofstra jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, as senior catcher Meaghan Almon (East Greenwich, RI/East Greenwich) hit a two-out RBI double into the left-center field gap, scoring Wambold, who had doubled to center. Towson answered right back, though, as junior shortstop Katie Mumbauer (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) led off the bottom half with a solo homer to left, her 10th home run of the season, tying the Towson school record set by Debbi Oraczewski.

Hofstra took the lead back at 2-1 in the top of the fourth inning on a two-out RBI double by junior first baseman Stefanie Kenney (Malvern, PA/Great Valley). However, once again Towson answered right back in the bottom half, as junior center fielder Jeanne Bosch (Medford, NY/Patchogue-Medford) hit a three-run triple down the left field line to give Towson a 4-2 lead.  Almon had a two-out RBI single in the fifth to score Wambold (who had doubled) to pull Hofstra within 4-3, and then Wambold's third double of the day off the wall in straightaway center scored two runs in the sixth to give the Pride the lead for good. Lane followed with an RBI single to put Hofstra ahead 6-4, and Almon added her third RBI of the game on a groundout to stretch the lead to 7-4.

The Pride had to dodge trouble in the seventh, as a two-out error allowed the Tigers to pull within 7-5. Towson then loaded the bases on a single from left fielder Jenny Edwards (Kirkland, WA/Juanita), bringing Mumbauer back to the plate. Alcantara, though, struck out Mumbauer looking on a pitch on the outside corner to record the save. Wambold finished 3-for-4 with three doubles, two RBI and three runs scored, tying the Hofstra record for doubles in a game held by former All-Americans Crystal Boyd and Allicia Smith, while Almon was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI.

Kenney had two doubles and junior center fielder Kelly Morris (Pelham, NY/Pelham Memorial) had one to help the Pride match a school record with seven doubles, equalling the mark it set against Manhattan in 1999. Wambold's three doubles gave her four in the postseason, setting a new CAA record for doubles in a tournament.

In the Pride's second game, freshman right fielder Ashley Lane (Westbury, NY/Clarke) had the key hit at the plate, a two-run, two-out single in the third to give Hofstra a 2-0 lead. The Pride had to withstand some anxious moments, though, as Alcantara was called in relief in the bottom of the fourth with runners on second and third and none out. The third out came when Hofstra junior left fielder Lisa Torres (Farmingville, NY/Farmingville) made a diving catch down the left field line on a line drive from James Madison junior left fielder Natalie Burd (Bristol, PA/Bristol) to save two runs. Torres had entered the game for injured third baseman Tara Ulrich (West Nyack, NY/Clarkstown South) just one inning previously.

Alcantara then had to work out of her own jam in the seventh, as she committed an error and walked two batters to load the bases with one out. However, she regrouped to get the final two outs on a pop up to second base and a grounder to third. James Madison's Liz George did have a single to end the season with an 18-game hit streak, while Alcantara allowed just one hit in four innings of relief to get the win and improve to 9-3 on the year.  

The championship round will gave Delaware the chance to win at Hofstra Softball Stadium for the third time this season. The Pride is now 29-2 all-time at home against CAA teams, with both losses coming to Delaware this year, including a 3-2 decision on the opening day of the CAA Tournament on Thursday. Hofstra will also be trying to win a conference tournament out of the loser's bracket for the third time in the last six seasons. The Pride defeated Towson twice in the championship round of the 1999 and 2001 America East Tournaments.
 
For the first time, the winner of the 2004 CAA Softball Championship will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Softball Tournament. The 64-team NCAA Tournament field will be announced on Sunday evening at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN News.

2004 CAA Softball Championship
(at Hofstra Softball Stadium ?“ Hempstead, NY)

Thursday, May 13    
Game 1 -- #2 James Madison 2, #3 Towson 0 
Game 2 -- #4 Delaware 3, #1 Hofstra 2   
      
Friday, May 14 
Game 3 ?“ Hofstra 7, Towson 5 (Towson eliminated)
Game 4 ?“ Delaware 4, James Madison 2
Game 5 ?“ Hofstra 3, James Madison 0 (JMU eliminated)

Saturday, May 15
Game 6 ?“ Delaware (29-22-1) vs. Hofstra (32-19), 12 p.m.
Game 7 ?“ Same two teams (if necessary), 30 min. following