West Point, N.Y. – The Hofstra softball team took one of two games from the Army Black Knights on Wednesday afternoon at the West Point Softball Complex. Hofstra defeated the Black Knights, 6-4 in game one before falling in game two, 6-1.
 
Chelsea Manto led Hofstra with five total hits on the day and also added three runs, one walk, one stolen base, and one RBI. Meghan Giordano followed with a 3-for-4 performance in game one with two RBI including a leadoff double in the fourth.  
 
Game 1: Hofstra 6, Army 4
 
Hofstra jumped onto the scene and put its first four runners on base, but Meghan Giordano put the first run on the scoreboard when she knocked a base hit to center field that scored Chelsea Manto after she led off the game with an infield single. Kasey Collins, who reached on a base hit, scored when Aliya Catanzarita singled through the left side before Amanda Maffucci made it a 3-0 game with an infield hit to score Giordano. Hofstra added a fourth run in the second inning when Angelina Ioppolo hit an opposite-field single allowing Manto to easily score her second run in as many innings.
 
Amy cut into the lead in the fourth to make the score 4-1 with an RBI groundout, but the Pride responded with two runs on two hits and two errors to stretch the lead back out to five, 6-1. Devyn Losco scored after reaching base on a throwing error and Giordano scored Manto again with another base hit.
 
The Black Knights didn't go away easy as Army plated three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on a passed ball, RBI groundout and error, but Collins retired the final batter at second base to cap the game at 6-4.
 
Haley Venturini tossed the first six innings for the Pride and earned her fifth-straight win, moving to 5-5 on the season. Venturini struck out seven batters including four in a row across the first and second innings.
 
Game 2: Hofstra 1, Army 6
 
The table turned for game two as this time it was Army who scored three runs in the first inning to jump out to a quick advantage over the Pride. The Black Knights added a fourth run in the bottom of the third, and Hofstra answered with back-to-back base hits by Aliya Catanzarita and Maffucci but nothing crossed as the game headed into the bottom of the fourth.
 
Army tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, and Hofstra scored its lone run of the contest in the top of the seventh with an RBI infield single by Manto, but Manto was thrown out trying to advance to third base on a Gianna Iaquinto single to end the game.
 
Julia Apsel (3-8) suffered the loss after pitching 5.0 innings with three strikeouts.
 
Up Next:
Hofstra returns to Bill Edwards Stadium on Saturday for the start of another Colonial Athletic Association series against the Charleston Cougars. First pitch for a doubleheader on Saturday is set for 12 p.m.

Notes:
-Hofstra is now 9-18 on the season while Army is 8-21
-Manto increased her team-leading batting average to .375 and extended her hitting streak to nine games
-Hofstra is now 17-4 all-time against Army