Sophomore first baseman Michele DePasquale (Waterford, NJ/Camden Catholic) broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning with an RBI single and junior pitcher Kayleigh Lotti (S. Attleboro, MA/St. Raphael's (RI)) picked up her second win of the NCAA Regionals as the Hofstra Softball team advanced to the Regional finals with a 5-1 win over Canisius on Sunday morning at Hofstra Softball Stadium.
With the win, Hofstra improves to 45-12, extending its school record for wins in a season, and will move on to face top-seeded Arizona (38-16) in the regional finals at 12:45 p.m. It is the Pride's third regional finals appearance in the last five years, including 2004, when it came one win from the Women's College World Series. Canisius ends its season at 39-14 with the loss, setting a new school record for wins.
Hofstra broke a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth inning with four runs, scoring the first run when it led off with three straight singles. Freshman third baseman Sara Michalowski (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan) led off with a single up the middle and moved to second on a wild pitch. Senior designated player Courtney Oliver (Swansea, MA/Coyle & Cassidy) ripped a single through the right side to put runners on first and third, and DePasquale ripped another single through the right side to score senior pinch-runner Genevieve Haney (Levittown, PA/Conwell Egan).
A walk to senior shortstop Pam Dreslinski (Kingsville, OH/Edgewood) loaded the bases, and junior catcher Carolann Lubach (Langley, WA/South Whidbey) followed with a line drive to left for a sacrifice fly to score freshman pinch runner Trisha Dreslinski (Kingsville, OH/Edgewood). Junior left fielder Melissa Hodge (Hamilton, NJ/Hamilton West) then hit a slow roller to shortstop as sophomore pinch runner Christie Novatin (Farmingdale, NJ/Howell) broke for the plate. Senior shortstop Ashley Bonetto (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) tried to come home, but the throw was wide as Novatin slid in, and Pam Dreslinski was able to come all the way around from second to make the score 4-0.
Canisius got a runner to third base in the first inning, as freshman left fielder Lauren Hope (Los Osos, CA/Morro Bay) slapped a single through the left side with one out and stole second, her 39th steal of the year in 40 attempts. Senior second baseman Katie Miranto (N. Tonawanda, NY/N. Tonawanda) then hit a chopper in the hole between first and second, but Pride junior second baseman Casey Fee (Long Beach, NY/Long Beach) was able to dive to her left and flip the ball backhanded to first to get the out. Lotti was then able to strike out sophomore designated player Michelle Fridey (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) to get out of the inning.
Hofstra threatened in the top of the second with two outs, as Pam Dreslinski lined a double off the left field wall, just missing her second home run of the NCAA Regionals and her fifth NCAA Tournament homer in the last two years. After Lubach walked, Hodge lined a single to left to load the bases, but Canisius senior starter Lindsay Morris (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) was able to get sophomore pinch-hitter Stefanie Feinstein (West Chester, PA/Henderson) to ground out to third base to end the threat.
The Pride then had two runners thrown out at the plate on the same play in the top of the fifth. Hodge led off with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch, before Fee laid down a bunt single. Fee took second on the play as junior center fielder Jenny Maheu (Hollister, CA/San Benito) tried to run in from center field to cover second, but Fee was barely able to slide in safely. Junior center fielder Erika Bernstein (Somerville, NJ/Somerville) then hit a chopper to shortstop, and Ashley Bonetto was able to come home to get Hodge. Bernstein ran to second, and Canisius junior catcher Angela Turrey (Riverside, CA/Martin Luther King) threw down to Miranto. Fee then broke for the plate, and the throw back from Miranto was in plenty of time for the final out of the inning.
Hope led off the bottom of the sixth with her third single of the game and stole her 40th base of the year. But Miranto followed with a lineout to DePasquale at first and DePasquale was able to double Hope off of second base.
DePasquale added an RBI groundout in the top of the seventh, scoring Bernstein, who led off with a single up the middle. Trisha Dreslinski added a bunt single in the inning around a Canisius error to load the bases with nobody out, and DePasquale's chopper to second allowed Bernstein to score from third to make the score 5-0.
Ashley Bonetto was able to break up Lotti's shutout bid with a home run down the left field line with one out in the seventh. Lotti improved to 23-6 on the season with the win. Junior Juliette Bowers (Morgan Hill, CA/Live Oak) took the loss in relief to fall to 20-3 on the season. Morris threw four shutout innings for the Golden Griffins, but had a no-decision. Oliver was 2-for-3 at the plate for the Pride, while Hope was 3-for-3 for Canisius.
2008 NCAA Hempstead Regional
(double-elimination format)
Friday, May 16 - Rained Out
Saturday, May 17
Game 1: Arizona 11, Canisius 0 (5 innings)
Game 2: Hofstra 1, LIU 0
Game 3: Arizona 10, Hofstra 0 (5 innings)
Game 4: Canisius 3, LIU 2
Sunday, May 18
Game 5: Hofstra 5, Canisius 1
Game 6: Arizona (38-16) vs. Hofstra (45-12), 12:30 p.m.
Game 7: Same two teams (if necessary), 30 minutes following
