Towson, MD – Behind an explosive offense, clean defense, and excellent pitching from
Julia Apsel, the Hofstra softball team won its first CAA series of the 2024 season thanks to a big 12-0 win over Towson on Sunday afternoon in Towson, Maryland.
Hofstra is now 4-11 and 2-1 in the CAA, and Towson drops to 8-13 and 1-2 in league play.
After a scoreless first inning, the Pride broke through in the second inning on a fielder's choice situation, and they widened the lead to four in the third inning off the bat of
Olivia Malinowski . With the bases loaded and one out, Malinowski connected on a 3-2 pitch for a bases-clearing double to center field, scoring
Aliya Catanzarita,
Chelsea Manto, and
Lily Yepez.
Hofstra played another two runs in the fourth inning. Yepez drove in a run with an RBI single, and Yepez crossed home after
Becca Vaillancourt slapped a double into the outfield to make it 7-0. After
Tyler Douglas scored on a Towson fielding error in the fifth inning, the Pride widened its lead even further with a five-run seventh inning. Malinowski scored on a Towson throwing error to set the score at 8-0, and a wild pitch allowed Douglas to score and make it 9-0 Hofstra. A Manto RBI single and a two-run single by
Gabriella Sultan plated another three runs to the total.
Malinowski drove in three RBI and tallied two hits with one walk drawn, while Sultan recorded two RBI, and Manto, Vaillancourt, Wilson, and Yepez all batted in runs for the Pride. Apsel pitched another gem in her second outing of the series, pitching five innings and striking out five Towson batters while allowing only three hits to go 3-3 on the year, and
Anna Butler allowed just two hits in two innings of work.
Hofstra opens Bill Edwards Stadium for its first action of the season with a three-game set versus Drexel. The series against the Dragons begins on Friday, March 15, at 5 p.m.
NOTES:
-Hofstra is now 82-26 all-time against Towson.
-Hofstra has won its opening CAA series for the third consecutive season.
-This was the second time in her career that Apsel recorded a shutout as a starting pitcher.
-Yepez stole her fifth base of the season.
-Her two hits and three RBI are a new single-game high for Malinowski.
