Towson, Md. – The Hofstra softball team closed out the Colonial Athletic Association regular season with a Sunday doubleheader sweep of the Towson Tigers at the Tiger Softball Park. The Pride defeated the Tigers in game one, 2-1 before earning a 8-4 win in game two.
 
Hofstra closed out the regular season with a 21-25 overall record while posting a 13-6 (.684) CAA mark, Hofstra's best CAA winning percentage since 2018. Towson finished their season 14-32 overall and 4-15 in the conference.
 
Chelsea Manto, Meghan Giordano and Sam Ward all had a trio of hits on the day, while Ward drove in three runs in game two and Manto had one RBI in each game, as she drove in runs with a triple in game one and double in game two.  
 
Game 1: Hofstra 2, Towson 1
 
It was a defensive battle until the fourth inning as the game combined for just three hits through during the first half of the game. Towson put runners in scoring position in the first and fourth, but it was the Pride who broke through in the top half of the fourth as Kayla Wilson reached with a shallow double to left field before Manto drove her in with a triple to left-center. The Tigers tied it up in the bottom of the fifth with a base hit to left, evening the score out to 1-1.
 
Sam Ward and Angelina Ioppolo reached in the sixth on a single and hit by pitch, respectively, before Aliya Catanzarita put the Pride on top with a base hit up the middle, bringing the score to 2-1.
 
Haley Venturini shut the Tigers down the remainder of the way and retired six of her next seven batters to close out her performance. Venturini improved to 8-8 overall on the season, struck out seven batters, and surrendered just five hits and one walk.
 
Game 2: Hofstra 8 ,Towson 4
 
Hofstra got on the board quick in game two, as Kasey Collins doubled in her at bat before Meghan Giordano made it a first and third situation with a base hit through the left side. Ward hit a line drive to center field, allowing Collins to score easily to put Hofstra up, 1-0.
 
The Pride lead increased to 3-0 in the third when a failed pickoff attempt allowed Manto to score from second before Collins crossed the plate on a hard-hit Ward infield single.  After an RBI groundout by Giordano in the fourth, Devyn Losco and Manto drove in back-to-back runs to increase the advantage to 6-0.
 
In the final inning, Giordano led off with a double and Ward recorded her third consecutive RBI in her third-straight plate appearance before Amanda Maffucci added an eighth Hofstra run to stretch the score out to 8-0.
 
Towson stormed back down to their final out with an RBI single and three-run home run to cut the Hofstra lead in half, but that was all the Tigers could get as Hofstra earned the win in the regular season finale.
 
Annabella Pisapia pitched five strong innings, did not allow a run to score, and allowed just one hit while striking out three. Nikki Mullin and Marisa Ogden both pitched one inning in relief.
 
Up Next:
Hofstra will travel to the 2022 CAA Championship hosted by Elon. The Pride will be the No. 2 seed for the upcoming Championship and will take on the No. 3 seeded UNCW Seahawks on Thursday, May 12 at 1:30 p.m.
 
Notes:
-Hofstra is now 77-22 all-time against Towson
-Hofstra finished the season winning six of its seven CAA series
-Manto extended her reached base streak to 30 games and hitting streak to 11 games
-Giordano's reached base streak is now at 20 games and her hitting streak is at 10 games
-Ward recorded her eighth multi-RBI game of the season and first three-RBI game