FORDHAM WINS PITCHERS DUEL OVER HOFSTRA 1-0

4/20/2010 9:00:00 PM

Hempstead, NY - Shortstop Samantha Pellechio hit a solo homer with two outs in the seventh inning to give Fordham a 1-0 win over Hofstra on Tuesday afternoon at Hofstra Softball Stadium, breaking up a pitcher's duel between Fordham sophomore Jen Mineau and Hofstra freshman Olivia Galati (West Babylon, NY).

With the win Fordham improves to 37-8, including 11 straight wins. Hofstra falls to 31-8 with its second straight loss after its 13-game winning streak ended on Sunday at Towson.

Mineau entered the game with a 23-5 record and an 0.77 ERA, while Galati came in with a 19-3 record and a 1.16 ERA, and the pitchers exchanged zeroes for the entire game. Mineau threw a two-hitter with 13 strikeouts, with both hits coming in the first inning, while Galati threw a three-hitter with eight strikeouts and no walks in the losing effort.

Hofstra managed two hits in the first inning off Mineau, including a leadoff single from senior center fielder Kris Root (Waynesboro, PA) and a single through the left side from freshman right fielder Tessa Ziemba (Wilmington, DE). In between, though, the Rams were able to turn a 4-6-3 double play to prevent Hofstra from generating a rally.

The Pride got a runner to second base in the bottom of the second, as senior designated player Christie Novatin (Farmingdale, NJ) walked with one out and was sacrificed to second by sophomore second baseman Jess Hirschbuhl (Jamison, PA). Mineau, though, caught junior shortstop Trisha Dreslinski (Kingsville, OH) looking for the third out.

Galati retired the first 13 Fordham batters in order, including seven by strikeout, before Pellechio singled to right with one out in the fifth inning. Galati then got the next two batters on shallow pop flies into the outfield, with freshman left fielder Becca Bigler (Bainbridge, PA) ending the inning with a diving catch in foul territory behind third base.

Pinch hitter Jamie Pollak led off the sixth inning for Fordham with a bloop to the opposite field that landed on the right-field foul line for a single, but Galati got the next three batters on two shallow fly balls to left and a strikeout looking.

Hofstra had the bases loaded with one out in the sixth, but could not score. Root drew a one-out walk for the Pride, and then stole second to put a runner in scoring position. Fordham intentionally walked senior first baseman Michele DePasquale (Waterford, NJ) to put runners on first and second. A passed ball moved the runners up a base, and Mineau pitched around Ziemba to load the bases with one out, before striking out the next two batters to get out of the jam. After Pellecchio's homer, Mineau struck out the side in order in the bottom of the seventh to slam the door shut on the Pride.

Pellecchio finished 2-for-3 with the game-winning homer, accounting for two-thirds of Fordham's hits (and two-fifths of the hits in the game for both teams). Root was 1-for-2 with a walk and a single for the Pride, and Ziemba was 1-for-2 with a walk as well. Galati falls to 19-4 with the loss, suffering two straight defeats after a 19-2 start.

Hofstra will next be in action when it hosts St. John's tomorrow for a 4 p.m. contest. The Pride will then host a three-game CAA series against UNC Wilmington this weekend, with a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday at 12 p.m.

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