Hempstead, N.Y. – The Hofstra softball team is off to a hot Colonial Athletic Association start and is looking for its fourth consecutive Colonial Athletic Association series win against UNCW this weekend. Hofstra will host the Seahawks in a doubleheader on Friday, April 15 at 12 p.m. before turning around on Saturday for a single-game, also at noon.
 
Live stats and live video on FloSoftball will be available all weekend long. All coverage links can be found at the top of this release and on the Hofstra softball schedule page on GoHofstra.com.
 
Hofstra (13-20, 6-2 CAA) took on Fordham on Wednesday evening but fell to the Rams, 3-2. Annabella Pisapia pitched 4.2 innings in relief, did not allow an earned run, and struck out three batters. Sam Ward had Hofstra's only RBI, while Chelsea Manto, Kasey Collins, Aliya Catanzarita and Devyn Losco all recorded hits.
 
Through the first stretch of eight conference games, reining CAA Player of the Week Meghan Giordano is leading Hofstra with a .385 batting average against CAA opponents with 10 hits, six RBI and two home runs. Chelsea Manto also has 10 hits in CAA action and is riding a 15-game reached base streak heading into the weekend. On the year, Manto is batting a team-best .358 with 43 hits (fifth in the conference) while Giordano follows with a .255 batting average and 15 RBI. Angelina Ioppolo paces Hofstra with 16 runs driven in.
 
Hofstra will continue to rely on a rotation of four in the circle, led by Julia Apsel who owns a 2.83 ERA through 91.2 innings pitched. Apsel was outstanding last weekend at James Madison, earning both wins against the Dukes on Saturday after tossing 10 solid innings in relief. In all she struck out 10 batters over the course of those two games, did not issue a walk, and allowed just three total hits as the opposition hit just .094 against her.
 
Following Apsel in the circle is Haley Venturini who brings a 3.08 ERA into the weekend through 59.0 innings pitched. Venturini leads Hofstra with 64 strikeouts. Annabella Pisapia and Nikki Mullin are also major keys to the rotation, as Pisapia just pitched 4.2 quality innings in relief against Fordham. On the season, Pisapia has struck out 28 batters through 31.1 innings while Mullin has fanned 17 batters through 35.0 innings of work.
 
UNCW (24-8, 6-3 CAA) has also won three league series in a row, going 2-1 against Delaware, James Madison and Towson. The Seahawks are playing in their second-straight road series after spending last weekend at Towson. Janel Gamache has produced a team-best 29 runs while also leading the team in batting average (.366). Tayler Vitola follows with a .355 average and team-high 38 hits, while Arial Pearce rounds out the top-three hitters with a .292 batting average and 12 RBI. In the circle, Emily Winstead is the Seahawks' go-to arm with over 82 innings of work and a 1.79 ERA. Winstead also leads the team with 112 strikeouts and six complete games.
 
Hofstra is 44-6 all-time against UNCW. The two teams have not faced since the 2019 season when the Seahawks won the series, two games to one.