Senior designated player Stefanie Kenney (Malvern, PA - pictured) batted 2-3 with three RBIs, including her 20th career home run, and senior pitcher Callie Osborne (Oshawa, Ontario) won her 20th decision in a row as the Hofstra Softball team advanced to the winner's bracket with a 7-4 win over James Madison on Thursday afternoon.
The win was the Pride's ninth in a row and improves its record to 39-14-1 on the year, as well as 39-3 all-time at home against CAA opponents. Hofstra will next face Towson, a 10-8 winner over Drexel, on Friday at 12:30 p.m. James Madison falls to 27-26 overall and faces Drexel on Friday at 10 a.m.
Kenney's homer came with two outs in the bottom of the third inning, giving the Pride a 6-2 lead. James Madison, though, made things interesting as freshman second baseman Jenn Chavez hit a two-run homer with nobody out in the top of the sixth inning, pulling the Dukes within 6-4.
Hofstra went to the bullpen to bring in junior Amy Belonick (Terryville, CT), who pitched out of a first-and-second, one-out jam with the help of some solid defense. Sophomore shortstop Katie George hit a scorching line drive with two outs that Pride senior first baseman Hailey Clark (Caledon, Ontario) lunged to catch off her shoetops to keep the score 6-4.
The Pride added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning, as junior second baseman Lisa Wambold (Hatboro, PA) led off with a double down the left field line and came home to score when Chavez misplayed a wind-blown infield pop-up for an error. Belonick retired the side in order in the seventh for her first career save.
Wambold (2-for-2, two walks), who was named the CAA Player of the Year on Wednesday evening, also had a two-out RBI single in the second to give Hofstra the lead for good at 3-2. Sophomore catcher Ashley Lane (Westbury, NY) staked the Pride to a 1-0 lead in the first when she tripled off the wall in right-center, scoring Wambold, who reached on a walk. Lane then came home on a check-swing bloop double from Hailey Clark. James Madison, though, tied the score at 2-2 in the second when Chavez hit a sacrifice fly and starting pitcher Briana Carrera was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Osborne allowed four hits and one earned run while striking out five in five innings of work to extend the nation's longest winning streak to 20 games. She improved her record to 23-5 on the season, and has not lost a decision since falling 1-0 to Seton Hall back on March 19. Kenney became only the sixth player in school history with 20 career home runs with her three-run blast in the third. Wambold was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Chavez was 1-for-2 with three RBI for James Madison. Carrera allowed eight hits and six runs (three earned) to get the loss for the Dukes to fall to 12-12.
In the first game of the day, senior first baseman Samantha Schaukowitch was 3-for-4 with a CAA Tournament-record tying four RBI to lead Towson to a wild 10-8 win over Drexel, the highest scoring game in CAA Tournament history. The Tigers scored all ten of their runs with two outs as they rallied from early deficits of 3-0 and 7-3. Freshman left fielder Nina Navarro finally gave Towson its first lead of the game with a two-out RBI single in the fourth to make the score 9-8. The win was the Tigers' 37th of the season (37-17), setting a new school record.
Drexel took a 3-0 lead in the first inning as third baseman Brianne Brown hit a two-run homer with two outs. Schaukowitch came through with a two-out RBI single to score senior shortstop Katie Mumbauer, and a Drexel error allowed two more runs to score to pull the Tigers even at 3-3. Drexel, though, came back with four runs in the top of the second, as four Towson errors opened the floodgates. Senior pitcher Elizabeth Fuller and senior designated player Jonnae McClain capped off the inning with back-to-back RBI singles.
Towson, though, scored three times in the bottom half of the second, as senior center fielder Jeanne Bosch hit a two-out, two-run triple and was driven home on a double from Schaukowitch to make the score 7-6. Drexel scored another run in the fourth on a Towson error, but the Tigers scored three times in the bottom half, keyed by a two-out, two-run single from Schaukowitch, giving her four RBI on the day, tying the CAA Tournament record set by Hofstra's Amanda Hallaway in 2003 against Towson.
Schaukowitch's hit also drove home Mumbauer for her third run of the game, setting a new Tiger school record with 140, eclipsing the mark of 139 set by Brooke Clyde. Catcher Jen Hastings followed with a single, and Navarro added an RBI single to break the tie and send the Tigers on to the win.
Senior Jessica Wides went the distance, allowing no earned runs as she improved to 14-7. Bosch finished the game 2-for-4 with two triples, two runs scored and two RBI, while Mumbauer was 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Fuller (6-14) took the loss for Drexel, while also batting 3-for-4 with two RBI at the plate for the Dragons.
Hofstra and Towson split a doubleheader on April 24 at Hofstra Softball Stadium, with the Pride winning the opening game 4-1 before Towson bounced back to win the nightcap 6-3. Drexel won all three games in its regular season meeting with James Madison.
