Hempstead, NY –
Madison McKevitt's two-out, ninth-inning grand slam lifted the Hofstra softball team to a dramatic, 9-5 win against UNCW in extra innings, advancing the Pride to the third day of the winner's bracket of the 2023 Colonial Athletic Association Softball Championship from Bill Edwards Stadium. The Pride, the No. 3 seed in the bracket, improves to 26-24 with the extra-innings win. The No. 2 seed Seahawks move into the loser's bracket with a 23-26 overall record.
Hofstra jumped in front in the first inning on a passed ball, allowing
Chelsea Manto to slide in safely. The Seahawks responded in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run home run to left center, putting them ahead, 2-1, before adding a run in the second inning to make it 3-1 to the higher-seeded team.
The Pride battled back with a four-run third inning to pull back in front, 5-3. After
Meghan Giordano led off the inning with a double,
Angelina Ioppolo squeezed a single down the right field line to score Giordano and make it a 3-2 score. Ioppolo, who advanced to second on the throw home, scored on a throwing error to tie the game at 3-3, and the Pride's rally continued as
Aliya Catanzarita scored on a passed ball to put Hofstra ahead, and McKevitt made it 5-3 Pride with an RBI single into the outfield. Hofstra's lead didn't last long, as the Seahawks scored on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single.
What looked to be a high-scoring game turned into a pitcher's duel as
Nikki Mullin and UNCW pitcher Emily Winstead went pitch-for-pitch to keep each team off the scoreboard. Hofstra had a number of opportunities to take a lead, but Hofstra stranded a season-high 18 batters on base due to Winstead's pitching and timely plays from the UNCW defense. On the other end, Mullin was in control as she didn't allow a Seahawk on base until the sixth inning, and she didn't allow a hit until seventh inning. UNCW threatened in the bottom of the seventh with runners on first and second, but Mullin forced a groundout to end the inning and send the game into extra frames.
After a scoreless eighth inning, Giordano drew a lead-off walk to start the ninth inning. Catanzarita reached base on an infield single, and the runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Vaillancourt. Following a four-pitch walk of
Alanna Morse, McKevitt stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs on the board. On the very first pitch she saw, McKevitt connected and drove the ball just over the right field wall for the go-ahead grand slam, her second home run of the season and the fifth of her career.
Julia Apsel came in for the bottom of the ninth and retired three straight batters to seal the victory.
McKevitt finished with two hits, a walk, and five RBIs for the Pride, while Manto went 3-6 at the plate and stole her 26th base of the season, and Giordano recorded two hits, scored twice, and walked three times. Mullin earned her sixth win of the season with a strikeout and only two runs and three hits in 6.2 innings of work. Apsel retired all three batters she faced in her lone inning, and
Anna Butler went 1.1 innings in the start.
Hofstra advances in the winner's bracket and will face No. 5 seed Towson (29-23), who defeated top-seed Delaware earlier in the day. First pitch between the Pride and the Tigers is set for 12 p.m. on Friday, May 12.
NOTES:
-The Pride's all-time record over UNCW moves to 47-8.
-Hofstra improves to 4-1 in extra-inning games this season.
-Collins and Giordano have now reached base safely in 17 consecutive games.
-Hofstra set a new CAA Championship record with 13 walks drawn, breaking the previous mark of 10 by the Pride against Delaware in the 2002 CAA Championship.
