BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Hofstra University softball team split its opening day of competition at the FAU Strikeout Cancer Tournament, coming up short to Illinois State in the opening game before bouncing back with a victory against the host Owls in the nightcap.
The Pride opened the day with a 9-0 setback in five innings, though the bats came to life in game two, scoring nine runs on seven hits in a 9-3 triumph against FAU.
Kasey Collins led the Pride with three hits on the day, finishing 3-for-7 at the plate with one run batted in two runs scored.
Angelina Ioppolo added a multi-hit day, registering two hits in five at-bats, and
Alexis Goeke recorded her first extra-base hit of the season with a double in her only hit of the day.
Madison Burns picked up her first win of the season in the circle, tossing a complete game and allowing just two earned runs against the Owls.
Mackenzie Suto added a scoreless inning of relief in the day's opener, striking out one.
Game One: Illinois State 9, Hofstra 0 (5 inn.)
It was a quiet first two innings before the Redbirds opened the scoring with a two-out, two-run home run to left field. The Pride threatened in the bottom of the third, putting two runners in scoring position with two outs but were unable to push a run across.
Illinois State broke the game open in the fourth inning, scoring seven runs to take a 9-0 lead. The deficit proved to be too much for Hofstra to overcome as the Pride went scoreless in their final two at-bats.
Game Two: Hofstra 9, FAU 3
The offense saw a resurgence in game two, scoring a season-high nine runs en route to its second win of the season. Despite the strong offensive performance, it was FAU grabbing the early lead on an RBI-single during the second inning to go up 1-0. An 18-inning scoreless drought came to an end during the Pride's third plate appearance, as the Blue and Gold hung a five-spot on the board behind four hits. An FAU error to begin the inning sparked the rally and Collins broke the seal on the scoring with an RBI-single to level the scoring at 1-1.
After Collins stole second base and
Meghan Giordano walked,
Jaycee Ruberti drove in two more runs with a single to left-center field. Two batters later, Ioppolo capped off the big inning with a two-run single to give Hofstra a 5-1 lead.
The Pride scored two more runs in the fourth inning and plated two more insurance runs in the top of the seventh to pull away for the six-run victory.
Up Next:
Hofstra returns to the diamond tomorrow morning for two games against the University of North Florida and Long Island University. The opening game against the Ospreys is slated to begin at 10:00 a.m.
