Junior pitcher Kayleigh Lotti (South Attleboro, MA - pictured) threw a five-inning two-hitter, recording 13 of her 15 outs by strikeout, as Hofstra captured a 9-0 win over Delaware in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Delaware Field. The Pride also won the nightcap 8-1, as a two-out throwing error in the seventh prevented the Pride from tying the school record for consecutive shutouts.
The shutout in game one was the fifth in a row for the Pride, tying the longest single-season streak in school history, which was first set in 1999. The overall record of six straight shutouts was set in the final four games of 1992 and the first two games of 1993. Hofstra shut out its opponents for 40 straight innings, dating back to a run in an 8-1 win over Fordham on April 16, before surrendering the seventh-inning run to the Blue Hens.
With the sweep, the Pride improves to 34-10 overall and 14-3 in the CAA, while improving its current winning streak to nine games. Hofstra is also 27-3 in its last 30 contests and needs just two wins in its final four conference games to clinch the regular season title and the right to host the CAA Tournament on May 8-10.
After Delaware center fielder Katie Lee started the opening game with a flyout to center, Lotti struck out 10 straight batters, the longest streak of her career. Third baseman Quinn Megargel ended the streak with a two-out double in the bottom of the fourth for Delaware's first base-runner, but Lotti bounced back to strike out Michelle Grap swinging for her 11th strikeout in four innings.
Lotti then struck out the first two batters of the fifth to stretch her total to 13, before a two-out single from Shanette White prolonged the inning. Lindsay Novak ended the game with a grounder to shortstop, the first non-strikeout since the first out of the game. Lotti's shutout was her tenth of the year, including her eighth in 11 conference starts, while she improved her record to 14-5 overall.
Hofstra broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning on back-to-back two-out hits. Junior left fielder Melissa Hodge (Hamilton, NJ) singled up the middle, and senior shortstop Pam Dreslinski (Kingsville, OH) followed with a bloop down the right field line that landed fair and spun into foul territory for a triple, allowing Hodge to score.
The Pride blew the game open in the fifth, scoring eight runs, including six runs before the first out was recorded to make the score 9-0. Sophomore right fielder Kris Root (Waynesboro, PA) led off with a walk and came home on a double down the left field line from freshman second baseman Trisha Dreslinski (Kingsville, OH). Junior center fielder Erika Bernstein (Somerville, NJ) followed with a single up the middle and went to second on the throw to the plate.
Senior designated player Courtney Oliver (Swansea, MA), sophomore first baseman Michele DePasquale (Waterford, NJ) and Pam Dreslinski all hit RBI singles to help stretch the lead to 7-0. A hit by pitch to junior catcher Carolann Lubach (Langley, WA) loaded the bases, and Trisha Dreslinski hit a sacrifice fly for her second RBI of the inning to make the score 8-0. Senior third baseman Genevieve Haney (Levittown, PA) added an RBI single to stretch the lead to 9-0.
DePasquale singled in the second inning to extend her school record hitting streak to 21 games. The previous record of 18 had been set by Crystal Boyd. DePasquale finished the opening game 2-for-3, along with Bernstein and Pam Dreslinski.
DePasquale then singled in a two-run first inning in the nightcap to move her streak to 22 games. Trisha Dreslinski and Bernstein led off the game with back-to-back infield singles. Freshman designated player Sara Michalowski (Philadelphia, PA) followed with an RBI single up the middle, and Bernstein stole home after Delaware attempted to pick Michalowski off of first. DePasquale followed with a single, but Delaware pitcher Anne Marie Pagano escaped further trouble as she left the bases loaded.
Michalowski added an RBI groundout in the second inning to make the score 3-0, scoring Root, who led off with a single and stole second, extending her school record to 23 stolen bases on the year. The Pride tacked on another run in the fourth as Root led off with a single and came home on an RBI double from Bernstein, her third hit of the game.
DePasquale then led off the fifth inning with a double, and an RBI ground ball from junior catcher Carolann Lubach (Langley, WA) stretched the lead to 5-0. Trisha Dreslinski followed with a line drive single to right for an RBI, scoring older sister Pam Dreslinski, who walked. Hodge tacked on an RBI single in the sixth to score Oliver, who hit a one-out double, while Haney had an RBI single in the seventh to make the score 8-0.
Oliver allowed no runs and four hits in six innings while striking out five to get the win and improve her record to 9-1 on the season. Joanna Kralowetz (Mt. Airy, MD) threw the seventh inning and allowed an unearned run as Pam Dreslinski's throw to first with two outs was low and DePasquale was unable to scoop it. Hofstra came into the game with the fourth best team fielding percentage in the country (.979), but had two errors in the nightcap to end a streak of seven straight errorless games.
Bernstein finished the game 4-for-4, making her 6-for-7 in the doubleheader, while DePasquale was 3-for-5 in the nightcap and 5-for-8 in the twinbill.
The two teams will complete their three-game series with a single game tomorrow at 12 noon.
