SB: Hofstra Falls To Texas In First Game At LSU

3/4/2011 11:56:00 PM

Baton Rouge, La. - All-America pitcher Blaire Luna threw a four-hit shutout and shortstop Taylor Thom had a homer and four RBI as the No. 12-ranked Texas Softball team defeated Hofstra 5-0 on Friday at the Purple & Gold Challenge at LSU's Tiger Field.

With the loss, the Pride falls to 6-5 on the season with four of its losses coming against returning All-America pitchers (two to East Carolina's Toni Paisley and one to Florida State's Sarah Hamilton). Texas improves to 16-2 on the year with the win.

After waiting four hours through a rain delay, Hofstra fell behind 2-0 in the second inning against the Longhorns. Nadia Taylor led off the frame with a solo homer down the left field line to put Texas on the board. A walk and stolen base allowed left fielder Torie Schmidt to reach second base, and Thom had a two-out single to right field to drive home Schmidt with an extra run.

Hofstra tried to get the runs back in the third inning as it mounted a threat against Luna. Junior second baseman Jess Hirschbuhl (Jamison, Pa.) and junior left fielder Michelle Lavagnino (Fredericksburg, Va.) had back-to-back singles with one out. Senior shortstop Trisha Dreslinski (Kingsville, Ohio) walked with two outs to load the bases, but sophomore right fielder Tessa Ziemba (Wilmington, Del.), who singled off Luna in the first inning, struck out swinging to end the threat.

Texas threatened for more right away, as center fielder Brejae Washington then led off the bottom of the third inning with a single and stole second. One out later, catcher Amy Hooks singled to put runners on first and third, and stole second to put two runners in scoring position, but junior pitcher Erin Wade (Taunton, Mass.) coaxed a pair of groundouts to get out of the inning unscathed.

Wade had two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the sixth, but a single and a walk put two runners on, and Thom hit a three-run homer to salt the game away.

Luna struck out 10 and walked two to get the win in the circle for the Longhorns. Wade allowed nine hits, struck out six and walked three in a losing cause as she slips to 2-2 on the season.

The Pride will return to action late this evening when it faces host LSU, ranked No. 21 in the nation, at 10 p.m. (EST). It will conclude pool play tomorrow morning against Pittsburgh (weather permitting).

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