Philadelphia – Hofstra Softball took down Drexel, 10-2, in five innings in the final game of the regular season on Sunday afternoon at Drexel Softball Stadium. The win clinched the No. 2 seed for the Pride in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, which begins Wednesday at James Madison.
Hofstra (25-21, 10-8 CAA) smacked nine hits, including three triples, with three batters finishing with multiple hits and three recording multiple RBIs.
Freshman
Kristin Hallam was 2-for-2 on the day with a double, a triple, two runs and an RBI, extending her hit streak to 14 games and finishing the weekend 7-for-9. Junior
Nikki Michalowski was 2-for-3 on the day with a home run, her fourth of the season.
Freshman
Alyssa Irons threw a season-high eight strikeouts in her second win of the weekend.
The Pride started the game with back-to-back triples, with Hallam hitting her second lead-off triple of the weekend, before junior
Brielle Pietrafesa smacked one to right field to bring Hallam home. Junior
Nikki Michalowski then blasted a two-run shot to dead center to bring Pietrafesa home for a 3-0 Hofstra lead.
The Dragons (19-30, 4-16 CAA) pulled a run back in the bottom of the first, but Irons threw a pair of strikeouts to end the inning. Irons fanned two more for the first two outs of the bottom of the second, but a Jourdan Skirha home run brought the Dragons within one.
The Pride regained control of the game in the top of the fourth, tacking on four more runs. Junior
Sarah Edwards singled with Irons stepping in to pinch-run before senior
Lacey Clark dropped a double into right-center to bring Irons home. Musa reached on a fielder's choice, putting runners on the corners with two outs, before Tomasetti drilled a triple into right field to bring in two more runs. A Hallam double brought Tomasetti home, giving the Pride a 7-2 lead.
After junior
Brittany Allocca walked to lead-off the fifth, Edwards and Michalowski each singled to load the bases. Clark then walked in a run and Musa hit a sacrifice fly to push Hofstra's advantage to 9-2.
Irons threw two more strikeouts in the bottom of the fourth. Allocca's sac fly in the top of the fifth brought Hallam home for Hofstra's 10th run.
The Pride will open the CAA Tournament with a game against No. 3 seed College of Charleston at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg, Virginia.