Hempstead, NY – The Hofstra softball team closed out action at the Hofstra Invitational on Sunday with a 1-1 split with Syracuse University and Iona College. Hofstra fell to Syracuse, 4-1 in the opening contest before rebounding for a 6-1 victory against Iona in the nightcap.
 
Chelsea Manto tallied four hits and was a perfect 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts while Angelina Ioppolo and Sam Ward each had a pari of hits. Five different Pride players all recorded one RBI on the day.
 
Game 1: Hofstra 1, Syracuse 4
 
The Orange jumped on the Pride early with three unearned runs in the top of the first inning, but Hofstra was able to answer with one run when the Pride loaded the bases without a hit with two outs before Gianna Iaquinto walked to allow Meghan Giordano to cross home.  
 
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Chelsea Manto hit a one-out single and stole second and Kasey Collins drew a walk, but a foul-out and swinging strikeout stopped the Hofstra threat. A solo home run by the Orange in the top of the seventh made it a 4-1 game, and Manto once again singled and stole second in the bottom half of the inning but the final out was recorded as Syracuse closed out the weekend 4-0.
 
Annabella Pisapia (1-1) tossed 3.2 innings, struck out four batters and did not allow an earned run. Nikki Mullin pitched 3.1 innings in relief and surrendered just two hits.
 
Game 2: Hofstra 6, Iona 1
 
This time it was Hofstra who got off to a hot start over the Gaels as the Pride recorded three runs on three hits while taking advantage of one Iona error to get things started. Manto led off the inning with a bunt single, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, and stole third which allowed her to easily score on a mishandled fly ball to left field. Angelina Ioppolo and Sam Ward kept the rally going with back-to-back RBI doubles, giving Hofstra a 3-0 lead after one.
 
The Pride increased the lead to 4-0 when Devyn Losco pushed a bunt all the way out to the shortstop who was heading to third base to defend the bunt. The ball nearly rolled all the way out to the outfield, allowing Madison McKevitt to score from second base after leading off the frame with a double to right-center field.   
 
By the middle of the third inning, Haley Venturini breezed through the order and retired eight Gaels in a row, including a second inning where she struck out the side. Venturini also struck out two of three batters in the third and fourth innings.
 
Iona scored its lone run in the top of the sixth inning on a throwing error that allowed Iona's Emma Capuano to score from second base. Hofstra responded similarly in the bottom of the sixth  as Kasey Collins reached on a fielding error, allowing Losco and McKevitt to provide insurance for Hofstra and increase the lead to 6-1.
 
Venturini (2-5) was fantastic in the circle, tossing her third complete-game with a career-high 12 strikeouts. The freshman walked just one batter and allowed five hits and zero earned runs.
 
Up Next:
Hofstra will kick off a week packed with a trio of single-games. The Pride will kick off a new week against Stony Brook at Bill Edwards Stadium on Tuesday, March 22 with first pitch slated for 3 p.m.
 
Notes:
-Hofstra is now 5-15 on the season
-The Pride extends its perfect record over Iona to 22-0
-The Hofstra pitching staff struck out 29 batters this weekend, an average of 7.25 per game. Venturini's 12 strikeouts were the most of any Pride player this season.
-Chelsea Manto recorded a team-high four hits on the weekend while Devyn Losco and Angelina Ioppolo had three. Losco and Meghan Giordano drove in two runs over the weekend stretch.