Baltimore, MD – After seven innings of solid pitching from both squads, the Hofstra softball team picks up its third extra-inning win of the season in a 5-2 victory over UMBC from The Diamond at UMBC on a clear Spring afternoon in Baltimore, Maryland.
Hofstra moves to 9-15 overall with the win, and UMBC falls to 8-9 on the year.
After a slow offensive start for both teams, thanks to strong outings in the circle from Hofstra's
Annabella Pisapia and
Nikki Mullin and Retriever pitcher Kaya Matter, neither team was able to push a run across home plate for despite combining for 11 hits in seven innings, sending this game into extra innings. With
Amanda Maffucci on second base as the ghost runner to start the eighth inning, she advanced to third base on a successful bunt attempt from
Alanna Morse, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position with no outs. With one out and facing a 2-1 count,
Kasey Collins scored Maffucci on an infield single to put the score at 1-0. UMBC would counter in the bottom half of the eighth with an RBI single of their own.
With
Angelina Ioppolo standing on third base following a sacrifice bunt by
Becca Vaillancourt to start the ninth inning,
Brianna Morse hit a double into center field to easily score Ioppolo and give Hofstra another one-run lead in the top of the ninth. The Retrievers would catch a lucky break on a Hofstra throwing error in the bottom of the inning, allowing the tying run to score before Mullin got herself and the Pride out of a jam.
The Hofstra offense answered the call once again in the top of the 10th inning. With Maffucci on third base thanks to a
Chelsea Manto bunt, Collins drove in her second go-ahead run of the afternoon with a bloop hit into right field, scoring Maffucci and giving the Pride its third one-run lead of extra innings. After a
Meghan Giordano single put runners on second and third thanks to a UMBC throwing error, Ioppolo stepped to the plate and sent a 2-1 pitch deep to left field, allowing Giordano and Collins to both score and add to Hofstra's lead. Hofstra finished the day with a quick 10th inning to secure the win.
Collins drove in two runs on two hits, and Ioppolo recorded a pair of RBIs in the top of the 10th inning to lead the team. Maffucci paced Hofstra with two hits in the game. Mullin earned her fourth win of the season after pitching five innings in relief and striking out three batters against three hits and two unearned runs scored.
Julia Apsel picked up her second save of the season by pitching a clean 10th inning with one strikeout. Pisapia got the start in today's contest and pitched four innings, striking out five UMBC batters against five hits allowed.
Hofstra returns home to Bill Edwards Stadium to resume Colonial Athletic Association play with a three-game series against Monmouth (3-16, 3-3 CAA). The series starts with a Friday doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., and it concludes with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
NOTES:
-The all-time record against Hofstra and UMBC is now tied at 1-1.
-Collins achieved her second multi-RBI game in as many weeks this season, and Ioppolo has driven in multiple RBIs for the third time in 2023.
-UMBC left 10 runners stranded on base, compared to eight for Hofstra.
-Pisapia's five strikeouts are the most she's thrown in a game since striking out five Charleston batters in the 2022 CAA Championship on June 13.
