Columbia, S.C. – The No. 24 Hofstra Softball team saw its season come to a heartbreaking end in the NCAA Regional semifinal, with host No. 9 seed South Carolina hitting a two-out walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat the Pride, 5-4, and advance to the regional final.
 
Hofstra finishes the season at 41-14, tying for fifth-most wins in program history. The Gamecocks improved to 47-15 with the win.
 
The Pride was riding an emotional high coming into the contest after freshman Sophie Dandola threw a perfect game earlier in the day to take down UNCG, 6-0, and keep the season alive. Hofstra stuck with Dandola to start, but after the Gamecocks got on the board with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first, sophomore Sarah Cornell entered in the second.
 
The contest proved to be a back-and-forth affair, with South Carolina tacking on another run in the bottom of the second to take an early 3-0 lead.
 
Allocca then got Hofstra on the board with a solo homer in the top of the fourth, before Michalowski followed suit in the top of the fifth to make it a one-run game. Patierno walked with one out and moved to third on a pair of wild pitches, but the Gamecocks escaped the inning with the lead still intact.
 
The Pride pulled ahead in the top of the sixth, with sophomore Kristin Hallam walking to leadoff and senior Brielle Pietrafesa laying down a bunt single for runners on first and second. Senior Sarah Edwards then dropped a double into left field to plate two runs and give Hofstra a 4-3 lead.
 
With two away in the bottom of the seventh, Jana Johns walked before Krystan White send a blast over the left-field wall to end the game.
 
Despite the loss, Cornell had a strong outing in the circle, allowing just three hits and striking out 10 in 5.2 innings of work.
 
Notes:
-Hofstra put together an incredibly memorable season, returning to the national polls for the first time since 2013 and ranking as high as 19 in the RPI.
-The Pride's seven-member senior class will leave a lasting legacy on the program, winning the Pride's first CAA championship since 2015.
-Seniors Brittany Allocca and Brielle Pietrafesa etched their names into the program record books, with Allocaa setting the single-season and career walks records, as well as finishing tied-for-second in single-season and career home runs and tied-for-third in career RBIs.
-Pietrafesa finished fifth in career home runs, second in single-season RBIs and tied-for-sixth in single-season home runs.
-Cornell finished with 245 strikeouts on the season, good for sixth all-time, with only legendary Hofstra pitchers Olivia Galati and Kayleigh Lotti ever completing a season with more.
-Hofstra posted its 29th consecutive winning season.