College Park, MD - Freshman pitcher Olivia Galati (West Babylon, NY) threw a six-hitter for her second career shutout and Sara Michalowski (Philadelphia, PA) was 3-for-3 with an RBI double as Hofstra earned a 2-0 win over Maryland in the first game of a doubleheader on Tuesday evening at Taylor Stadium.
Maryland bounced back to win the nightcap 10-2 behind a three-hitter (and a three-run homer) from pitcher Kendra Knight to salvage the split. Hofstra's record moves to 18-6 on the year with the split, while Maryland moves to 20-13.
The Pride struck early in the opening game as senior first baseman Michele DePasquale (Waterford, NJ) homered to straightaway center field in the top of the first inning. In the process, she extended her hitting streak to 10 games, the longest for a Hofstra player this season.
The Terrapins threatened in the sixth as center fielder Sara Acosta led off with a bunt single and moved to second on a wild pitch. However, Galati maneuvered through the heart of the order, getting No. 3 hitter Alex Schultz to pop up, No. 4 hitter Kerry Hickey to strike out swinging, and No. 5 hitter Marisha Branson to pop up to escape with the score still 1-0.
Michalowski then extended Hofstra's lead to 2-0 in the top of the seventh inning with an RBI double, scoring freshman left fielder Becca Bigler (Bainbridge, PA), who led off the frame with a single. Maryland once again put pressure on in the seventh, as shortstop Kathy McLaughlin led off with her third hit of the game. However, she was quickly erased by a double play, Hofstra's second of the game, and Galati got pinch hitter Lexi Carroll to ground out to end the contest.
Galati improved to 11-2 on the season with the win, including eight wins over schools from BCS conferences (North Carolina State, Michigan State, South Florida, Mississippi State, Louisville, St. John's, Connecticut, Maryland).
The nightcap saw the Terrapins take control of the game early. After the Pride left the bases loaded in the top of the first, Maryland scored six times in the bottom half. McLaughlin continued her hot hitting with an RBI single to give the Terrapins a 1-0 lead. Lexi Carroll followed with a two-run single to make the score 3-0, and Knight helped her own cause with a three-run homer to put Maryland ahead 6-0.
After the Pride left two more runners in scoring position in the second inning, Alex Schultz had an RBI single in the bottom half to stretch the lead to 7-0. The Terrapins tacked on a single run in the second, third and fourth innings to enforce the eight-run rule and come away with the split.
Knight took a no-hitter into the fifth before it was broken up by a double from Hofstra freshman pinch hitter D.J. Slugh (Marlboro, NJ), who improved to 3-for-3 at the plate this season. After a single from freshman right fielder Tessa Ziemba (Wilmington, DE) moved her to third, she scored on a passed ball to break up the shutout. A single from Bigler then plated Ziemba to pull Hofstra within 9-2, but Maryland answered in the bottom half of the inning to end the game.
Acosta was 3-for-4 at the plate, while Schultz was 3-for-3 with an RBI. Erin Wade (Taunton, MA) suffered the loss for Hofstra to fall to 6-4 on the season in the circle.
The Pride will next be in action when it returns home for a three-game Easter weekend series with George Mason, including a doubleheader on Friday and a single game on Saturday.
