Hempstead, N.Y. – Hofstra Softball used five home runs to sweep the Colonial Athletic Association doubleheader with Delaware, taking Game 1, 8-0, in five innings, before holding off a rally for a 6-5 win in Game 2 on Saturday afternoon at Bill Edwards Stadium.
The Pride (14-15, 4-3 CAA) came alive offensively, getting 19 hits on the day. Juniors
Megan Patierno and
Nikki Michalowski both had a pair of home runs, with Patierno going yard twice in Game 1 and Michalowski smashing two long balls in Game 2. Classmate
Brittany Allocca also added a Game 1 homer, while sophomore
Courtney Scarpato went 4-for-4 on the day.
GAME 1
Senior
Lacey Clark and Michalowski walked in the bottom of the first inning to put runners on first and second with two outs before Patierno drilled her first home run of the day to give Hofstra an early 3-0 lead.
After also walking a pair in the top of the second, freshman pitcher
Sarah Cornell helped turn a double play to get out of the inning, covering the bag at second for the third out.
The Blue Hens (16-16, 4-4 CAA) threatened in the top of the fifth, with Mattie Nuccio doubling to right field and moving to third on a wild pitch before Leanna Gearhart walked and stole second, but Cornell fanned the next batter looking and pitched into a fly-out for the third out.
The Pride sealed the game in the fifth inning, putting up five runs to end the game on the run rule. Michalowski led off with a single down the left-field line before Patierno's second homer of the game gave Hofstra a 5-0 lead. Patierno is now tied for the team lead with five home runs on the season. After a pop-up accounted for the first out, Allocca sent a solo shot to right center for her third of the year.
Junior
Sarah Edwards kept things going with a double to left field, and Scarpato's single to center moved Edwards to third. Freshman
Kristin Hallam singled as well, bringing Edwards home, before Hallam moved to third as Scarpato got caught in a run-down between third and home. But junior
Brielle Pietrafesa's RBI single to center field gave Hofstra the eight-run lead it needed to end the game.
Cornell picked up her 11th win of the season in the complete-game shutout, allowing just two hits.
GAME 2
The Pride stayed hot at the plate in Game 2, with Michalowski homering over the left-field fence in the bottom of the first with Pietrafesa on for a 2-0 Hofstra lead.
Freshman pitcher
Alyssa Irons threw a clean second inning, and the Pride added another run in the bottom of the frame. Allocca walked to lead off before junior Kaitylne Musa used a sacrifice bunt to move Allocca to second. Edwards and Scarpato also walked to load the bases, and Hallam sent a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in a run.
After another three-up-three-down inning for Irons, Michalowski's second shot of the game, this time to right-center, brought home Clark, who had led off with a single.
Delaware pulled a run back in the top of the fourth, with Emily Neal using a sacrifice fly to get the Blue Hens on the board for the first time that day. With runners still on, Irons got the next two batters to ground out to escape the inning.
Delaware tacked on another in the top of the fifth on a passed ball to cut the deficit to three before loading the bases in the top of the sixth, putting the tying run on first. But Irons worked out of the jam, catching the pinch-hitter Dana Variello looking for the third out, stranding three.
Pietrafesa drove in what proved to be the winning run in the bottom of the sixth, doubling to left field to bring home Tomasetti, who was pinch running for Edwards, who had singled to open the inning.
A three-run home run from Anna Steinmetz in the top of the third brought Delaware within one, but senior
Jessica Peslak stepped into the circle and fanned the last two batters to seal the victory for the Pride and earn her first save of the season.
Irons struck out four in her second straight win.
The Pride play a pair of midweek non-conference games this week, beginning with a trip to Seton Hall on Tuesday. Game time is set for 4 p.m.
