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Hofstra University Athletics

THE PRIDE OF LONG ISLAND
THE PRIDE OF LONG ISLAND
Taylor Pirone
Taylor Pirone
4
Winner Hofstra HOFSTRA 20-9-1
3
Drexel DREXEL 13-13
Winner
Hofstra HOFSTRA
20-9-1
4
Final
3
Drexel DREXEL
13-13
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E
Hofstra HOFSTRA 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 14 0
Drexel DREXEL 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 9 3

W: Pirone, Taylor (9-8) L: Lee, Taylor (10-8)

11
Winner Hofstra HOFSTRA 21-9-1
1
Drexel DREXEL 13-14
Winner
Hofstra HOFSTRA
21-9-1
11
Final
1
Drexel DREXEL
13-14
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Hofstra HOFSTRA 3 0 1 0 0 7 11 15 1
Drexel DREXEL 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 5 2

W: Pirone, Taylor (10-8) L: Haley, Katie (1-3)

Game Recap: Softball | | By Brian Bohl

SB: Hofstra Sweeps Drexel In Road CAA Doubleheader

Philadelphia – Senior pitcher Taylor Pirone threw seven innings of shutout relief to help Hofstra to a 4-3, 11-inning win in the opener and the Pride scored three times in the first inning and hit four home runs in the sixth en route to an 11-1 victory in the second game in a Colonial Athletic Association doubleheader sweep from Drexel Softball Field at Vidas Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.

Pirone won both ends of the doubleheader, including a complete-game five-hitter in the finale to improve to 10-8. Junior outfielder Caryn Bailey drove in four total runs on the day, including her team-best eighth home run, and freshman Brielle Pietrafesa scored three total runs and hit a homer.

Hofstra extended its winning streak to four in improving to 21-9-1 and 8-2 in conference play. Drexel fell to 13-14 and 3-7 against the CAA. The Pride has won 27 consecutive games in the all-time series.

Hofstra hit four home runs in the sixth inning of the second game to shorten it before seven, capped by sophomore Lacey Clark's grand slam.

In the first game, Bailey ripped a RBI single to the left of shortstop to put Hofstra ahead, 4-3, in the 11th. Bailey's second RBI of the afternoon marked the third consecutive two-out hit for the Pride and scored Pietrafesa for the game-winning run.

Pietrafesa advanced to second on junior Chloe Fitzgerald's right-side single. Bailey then laced a hard shot that Paula Ueno couldn't get a glove on in ranging to her left as the ball skipped into the outfield and Pietrafesa rounded third and ended the deadlock.

Drexel's Taylor Lee took the tough-luck loss after throwing 115 pitches in 11 innings and allowing just four runs (two earned) despite the Pride registering 14 hits. Lee fell to 10-8.

Pirone retired 15 straight batters from the sixth through the 10th before Ueno hit a leadoff single down to put the tying run on base in the bottom of the 11th. The Pride turned a 3-6-3 double play and Pirone ended the contest on a strikeout.

Pirone struck out nine and did not walk a batter. The righty needed just 67 pitches (51 strikes) in those seven innings.

Junior Kim Smith and Clark came across the plate in the fourth to break the scoreless tie. Smith pulled a single through the left side to start the inning and advanced to third following singles from Clark and senior Erin Trippi.

Lee forced freshman Brittany Allocca to fly out to shallow right. Smith bluffed going home and retreated to third, but Zamora's throw home sailed to the backstop and alloed all three runners to move up one base and score the first one. Freshman Megan Patierno hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Clark, who was ruled to have touched the plate before Trippi was tagged out attempting to advance to third.
Drexel, which made three errors through the first four innings, supported Lee in the bottom of the fourth and snapped a six-game shutout streak against the Pride.

Sylvia Llamas hit a two-out, three-run home run to right center in the bottom of the fourth for a 3-2 Drexel lead. Ueno and Alyssa Williamson reached on singles to start the inning and both were put in scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. Senior pitcher Morgan Lashley induced a shallow fly out to right to nearly escape trouble before Llamas hit her second home run of the season. Hofstra had blanked Drexel in three-game sweeps from 2013-14 and the home run was the time the Dragons scored in the series since the 2012 series finale at Hofstra Softball Stadium.

The Pride answered back in the top of the fifth. Pietrafesa, one of three first-year members in the team's lineup, singled to left and scored on Bailey's opposite-field single tied the score and marked her team-leading 29th RBI. It was also the 100th RBI of her career. She is the 20th player in program history to reach that milestone.

Both squads stranded runners in the quest to get the go-ahead run. Vanessa Lightfoot's fifth-inning leadoff double chased Lashley in favor of Pirone. A sacrifice bunt put Lightfoot on third with one out, though Pirone stranded the inherited runner in scoring position by getting two ground outs. Lashley was taken off the hook and earned a no-decision to keep her streak of winning 11 consecutive decisions intact.

The Pride struck for three runs in the opening inning off Katie Haley (1-3) in the second game. Fitzgerald singled, stole second and scored on Bailey's third RBI of the day. Smith doubled and both runners scored on a botched pickoff attempt that saw two errors on one run-down sequence to put the Pride ahead, 3-0.

Bailey pulled a solo home to right in the third for her 24th career blast. She is tied with Amanda Hallaway (2000-03) and Hailey Clark (2002-05) for the sixth-most in program history.

Hofstra hit four home runs in the sixth inning to put the run rule in effect. Clark hit a grand slam to cap the inning, following solo home runs from freshman Megan Patierno, sophomore Michaela Transue and Pietrafesa. The Pride scored seven runs in the inning to go ahead, 11-1. Clark's grand slam was her first of the season and the fifth. It was the fifth grand slam of the season for Hofstra and the first for Clark.

Hofstra will face Drexel in the series finale on Sunday at 11 a.m.
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