Sophomore pitcher Kayleigh Lotti (South Attleboro, MA - pictured) came four outs from a perfect game before settling for a one-hitter with a career-high 13 strikeouts as the Hofstra Softball team defeated George Mason 4-0 in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Hofstra Softball Stadium. Lotti came back to get the save in the nightcap as Hofstra completed the sweep 9-6.
With the sweep, the Pride improves to 17-11 overall and 4-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Hofstra also improves to 52-6 all-time at home against CAA opponents, since the league was founded in 2002.
In the opening game, Lotti retired the first 17 batters she faced, 11 by strikeout, before center fielder Dee Murray slapped a combacker with two outs in the bottom of the sixth that tipped off Lotti's glove and rolled towards third base for an infield single. Lotti then walked Amanda Bach to bring the tying run to the plate, but responded with her 12th strikeout of the day to end the inning. She added her 13th strikeout to close out the game, matching her career high set in an 11-inning game against Delaware last year, and improved her overall record to 7-4 on the season.
Hofstra took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, as freshman first baseman Michele DePasquale (Waterford, NJ) singled over the third base bag to score pinch runner Kris Root (Waynesboro, PA) from second. The Pride stretched its lead to 3-0 in the fifth inning, as sophomore center fielder Erika Bernstein (Somerville, NJ) scored on a wild pitch and sophomore second baseman Casey Fee (Long Beach, NY) slid around the tag from George Mason catcher Lesley Hassen on a grounder to shortstop.
The Pride tacked on an insurance run in the sixth inning as sophomore left fielder Melissa Hodge (Hamilton, NJ) had a one-out bunt single, moved to second on a DePasquale single up the middle, and came home on two wild pitches from George Mason starter Becky Anderson. DePasquale finished 2-for-2 with an RBI at the plate for Hofstra in the opener, while Fee was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Anderson took the loss to slip to 3-8 on the season.
In the nightcap, The Pride used a five-run second inning, all of which were unearned runs, to take a 7-1 lead and break the game open. Two George Mason errors kept the inning alive with two outs, and senior right fielder Ashley Lane (Westbury, NY) followed with a two-run double that fell in between two Patriot outfielders. Hodge then followed with a two-run single to right to stretch the lead to 7-1.
George Mason struck in the top of the first without a hit as Bach led off with a walk, stole second, moved to third on a sacrifice and came home on a sacrifice fly from shortstop Kelsey Mack. The Pride answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning, as an RBI fielder's choice from Oliver scored Fee and Lane followed with a sacrifice fly to center to score sophomore catcher Carolann Lubach (Langley, WA).
The Patriots got two runs back in the third as Bach, Alison Bryan and Mack led off with three straight singles to load the bases with nobody out. One out later, first baseman Kristen Dickel singled to left to chase Oliver from the game. Sophomore Joanna Kralowetz (Mt. Airy, MD) came on in relief and yielded an RBI comebacker to Hassen, but escaped the jam with no further damage.
Junior shortstop Pam Dreslinski (Kingsville, OH) got the runs right back for Hofstra in the bottom half with a two-run homer to left, her team-leading fourth homer of the season. George Mason kept chipping away as Mack answered with an RBI single in the fourth to cut the lead to 9-4. Patriot designated player Emily Miller hit an RBI double in the fifth to make it 9-5 and added a sacrifice fly in the seventh to cut it to 9-6. The Patriots brought the tying run to the plate with two outs in the seventh, and Hofstra went back to Lotti, who struck out Rachel Hastings looking to end the game and pick up her fourth save of the year.
Kralowetz went 4.1 innings in relief to get the win for Hofstra and improve to 6-3 on the year. Dreslinski was 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBI at the plate, while Lane was 1-for-3 with three RBI. Bernstein was 2-for-2 with a run scored and a sacrifice. Mack was 2-for-3 with two RBI for George Mason, while Miller was 1-for-2 with two RBI. Arielle Weinkofsky took the loss in the circle to slip to 3-8 on the year.
Hofstra and George Mason will complete their three-game series with a single game tomorrow at 11 a.m.
