Hempstead, NY – Hofstra rallied for five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning including a grand slam by junior
Madison McKevitt, but the deficit was too much to overcome as Delaware won a Colonial Athletic Association series finale, 11-5 over Hofstra.
Eight different Pride players recorded a hit on the day and two pinch hitters drove in all five of Hofstra's runs, as graduate student
Alexis Goeke made an appearance in the seventh inning and put the Pride on the scoreboard with an RBI double while McKevitt tacked on four more runs for Hofstra.
Delaware took a 2-0 lead over Hofstra in the first inning and extended that advantage to 5-0 by the middle of the fourth. In the mean time, Hofstra struggled to get going offensively, but junior
Jaycee Ruberti singled to right field in the bottom of the fourth to earn Hofstra's first hit of the day.
The seventh inning was a big one for both teams, as the final frame featured a combined 11 runs on 10 hits between the two squads. Delaware opened up to an 11-0 lead over Hofstra with a pair of three-run home runs by Brittney Mendoza and Chayanna Gallardo, before pitcher
Annabella Pisapia pitched herself out of a jam with a strikeout on a 3-2 count to halt the Delaware attack.
Hofstra put two-straight runners on base as
Meghan Giordano led off with a base hit to left-center field before
Angelina Ioppolo was hit by a pitch to put runners on second with no outs. Goeke pinch hit for catcher
Devyn Losco and ripped a double to right field, scoring Giordano. Hofstra continued to cause havoc as
Brianna Morse reached on a fielding error by the Delaware third baseman to load the bases before McKevitt entered the game and launched a grand slam straight over the center field fence to cut the Delaware lead to 11-5.
Kristin Hallam kept the rally going with a base hit to the pitcher, but Hofstra hit into an unfortunate double play to end the contest.
Hofstra fell to 12-12 on the season (5-6 CAA) while Delaware improved to 18-4 and 8-3 in the CAA.
The Pride returns to action on Wednesday, April 21 for a 6 p.m. meeting against the Fordham Rams at Bill Edwards Stadium.
Notes:
-Hofstra is now 73-24 in the all-time series against Delaware.
-Hallam has now reached base safely in 17-straight games
-McKevitt's grand slam was the first home run of her career