MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The Hofstra University Softball team settled for a split with the College of Charleston Cougars in the Colonial Athletic Association opening weekend at Patriots Point on Saturday. Hofstra took game one by a score of 3-0, but fell in the second half of the doubleheader, 4-3. The Pride moved to 13-12 on the year while Charleston is now 15-14.
Leading the offense on the afternoon was freshman first baseman
Angelina Ioppolo who finished 4-for-6 with one RBI and one walk, while freshman third baseman
Meghan Giordano paced the team in RBI with three, also batting 3-for-5 with one walk. Freshman outfielder
Imani Myint also went 3-for-5 at the dish, senior outfielder
Courtney Scarpato went 4-for-7 with two runs scored, and junior shortstop
Kristin Hallam had two hits including one double while crossing the plate a team-high three times.
Game 1: Hofstra 3, College of Charleston 0
Hofstra got off to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning over the Cougars, as Hallam led off the inning with a single to left field before Scarpato ripped an opposite field single, allowing Hallam to advance to third and score on a misplayed ball by the right fielder. Scarpato, who ended up reaching third base on her single to right field, went on to score in the Pride's next at bat as Giordano added a sacrifice fly to increase Hofstra's early advantage.
Hofstra had an offensive spurt in the top of the fifth inning scoring one more run on three hits, as Giordano singled up the middle allowing Scarpato, who reached on he second base hit of the day, to score from second base.
The Pride scattered three more hits for the remainder of the game, but the defense did not allow a runner past first base during the final three offensive innings for the Cougars, as Hofstra earned its first conference victory of the season. Freshman
Madison Burns improved to 7-6 overall earned her second career shutout with her ninth complete game of the season, allowing five hits while striking out two.
Game 2: College of Charleston 4, Hofstra 3
Hofstra scored once again in the top of the first inning and took control of rocky Charleston pitching, as the Pride loaded the bases with two walks and a
Kasey Collins bunt single before freshman
Madison McKevitt was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to take a 1-0 lead. Charleston took that run back however, leveling the score with a sacrifice fly to make the score 1-1 after one.
After a pair of scoreless innings, Hofstra added one more run as the Pride was once again hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, allowing Hallam to score the run after reaching base on a double to left center earlier in the stanza.
Charleston did the rest of its damage in the bottom of the fifth, as the Cougars plated three runs on three hits to gain its first advantage of the day over Hofstra. The final inning saw freshman
Jaycee Ruberti leg out a one-out double to left center field, but the late rally fell short as the Pride dropped the one-run game to the Cougars.
Freshman
Mackenzie Suto got the start and pitched 4.1 innings with two strikeouts, but it was ultimately Hofstra's reliever, Scarpato, who suffered the loss, dropping to 1-1 in the circle on the year.
Up Next:
Hofstra will close out the CAA opening weekend against the College of Charleston Cougars tomorrow, March 24 for a single game set for 12 p.m. For fans who are unable to attend, live stats and video will be available.
Notes:
-Hofstra turned four double plays during the doubleheader and is now the nation's leader in total double plays with 21 and second in the nation in double plays per game with 0.84.
-Hofstra has now scored first 16 times this season and is 12-4 when scoring first. The Pride has also scored first in five consecutive games.
-Hallam and Collins extended their hitting streaks to 10 games
-Hallam extended her reached base streak to 24 games and Collins extended hers to 16 games
-Hofstra is now 13-7 all-time against Charleston and has won five of the last six games against the Cougars
