NEWARK, Del. – For the first time in 694 days, the Hofstra University softball team took on a Colonial Athletic Association opponent as the Pride settled for 1-1 split with the Delaware Blue Hens at the Delaware Softball Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Delaware took game one from Hofstra by a 2-1 margin before Hofstra bounced back to claim game two, 10-6.
Hofstra moves to 7-5 on the season and begins conference play with a 1-1 league mark while Delaware is now 9-2 overall and 1-1 in the CAA.
Junior first baseman
Angelina Ioppolo had a big day at the plate as she went 5-for-6 with two RBI and two runs scored to lead Hofstra. Senior catcher
Devyn Losco went 4-for-7 with two runs, while sophomore
Chelsea Manto and graduate student
Kristin Hallam each had a pair of hits. Junior
Jaycee Ruberti, and graduate students
Alexis Goeke and
Alexa Corben all drove in two runs for the Pride.
Game 1: Delaware 2, Hofstra 1
After a scoreless first inning by both teams, Hofstra found the scoreboard first in the top of the second when Ioppolo drilled a one-out triple to right-center field before Losco drove Ioppolo in with a base hit to left field.
Delaware leveled the score in the bottom of the third with a sacrifice fly and eventually took the lead in the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run by Brooke Glanden. The Blue Hens tripled in their next at-bat, but Burns retired the next two batters to keep it a one-run game.
Hofstra was unable to put runners on base in the top half of the seventh inning as Hofstra fell in game one, 2-1.
Junior pitcher
Madison Burns (2-4) took the loss in the circle while Delaware's Emily Winburn improved to 4-0 on the season.
Game 2: Hofstra 10, Delaware 6
Hofstra matched its season-high of 14 hits in game two, led by Ioppolo who went a perfect 4-for-4 at the dish with two RBI and one run while Losco was 3-for-4 with a pair of runs for the Pride.
Hofstra scored at least one run in the first four frames and jumped out out to an early 2-0 advantage when Goeke and Ioppolo each drove in one run. Hofstra bolstered its lead to 7-0 with a five-run second inning which started with a bases loaded, no-out situation to force an early Delaware pitching change. Hallam knocked in Hofstra's first run of the inning with an RBI ground out before Ruberti ripped an opposite-field double, sending home both Manto and Giordano. Goeke and Ioppolo drove in back-to-back runs once again to cap off the inning.
Delaware answered with one run in the bottom of the second, but Giordano added to Hofstra's scoring tally with an RBI double to re-gain a seven-run lead. Delaware cut the Hofstra deficit to four in one swing when Halle Kisamore hit a three-run home run to center field.
Hofstra made sure that Delaware didn't get too close when Corben came in to pinch hit and singled up the middle to drive in two runs to make it a 10-4 game. The Blue Hens added one run in the fifth and another in the seventh, but Burns entered the circle and retired the final three batters of the game to seal the 10-6 victory for Hofstra.
Freshman
Annabella Pisapia pitched 3.2 innings in relief for Hofstra and earned the win, improving to 3-0 on the season. Sophomore
Nikki Mullin got the start and pitched 2.1 innings while striking out two batters. Burns also struck out two of her three batters in the seventh.
Up Next:
Hofstra is slated to face Delaware in the rubber match tomorrow at 12 p.m. Visit GoHofstra.com/coverage for links to follow the game live.
Notes:
-Hofstra went 4-for-4 on stolen bases. Entering the game, Hofstra was fifth in the nation in stolen bases per game while Hallam was 10th.
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Kristin Hallam had three of those stolen bases for Hofstra and she extends her program record total to 64
-Hofstra turned one double play on the day. Entering the weekend, Hofstra was third in the nation with 0.90 double plays per game.
