Hempstead, NY – The Hofstra softball team was limited to one run for the second consecutive game against Drexel, as the Dragons won 6-1 in the second game of the three-game CAA series between the Pride and the Dragons.
Hofstra is now 5-12 and 3-2 in CAA play, and Drexel improves to 5-12 and 2-2 against league competition.
Drexel struck first in the opening inning when Mia Garza singled a 2-1 pitch off of Hofstra pitcher
Haley Venturini with the bases loaded, allowing Jackie Masone to make it a 1-0 score as she crossed home. Venturini and the Pride battled through a bases loaded situation and recorded the next two outs with Marissa Ogden taking over in the circle on a pop fly and a swinging strikeout, but Kalea Calugay drew a five-pitch walk to plate the second run of the day for the visitors.
After a scoreless third inning for both sides, Drexel widened its lead to four with a two-run fourth inning. Jackie Masone slapped a triple to score Izzy Alamillo to make it 3-0 Dragons, and they added a fourth run on a SAC fly by Calugay. Hofstra got a run back in the fifth inning off the bat of
Aliya Catanzarita. With the bases loaded after singles by
Chelsea Manto and
Becca Vaillancourt, and a walk drawn by
Olivia Malinowski, Catanzarita singled the first pitch she saw through the gap between third base and shortstop to score Manto and bring the Pride to within three.
Drexel added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh inning to up its lead back to four runs. Ashley Errico singled to left with the bases load to make it a 5-1 game, and Alamillo singled up the middle to drive home the sixth Drexel run of the afternoon.
Manto went 3-4 with a run scored for the Pride, while Catanzarita recorded two hits in four at-bats and delivered the lone run for the hosts. Hofstra also had hits from Vaillancourt and
Lily Yepez, and Yepez stole a base for the Pride in the first inning. Venturini got the loss with two runs allowed, while Ogden pitched 2.1 innings and allowed two runs,
Anna Butler went three innings in the circle with a pair of Drago runs, and
Annabella Pisapia pitched the final two innings.
The series concludes on Sunday at noon from Bill Edwards Stadium.
NOTES:
-All four of Hofstra's pitchers struck out one Drexel batter each.
-The teams combined to strand 11 runners on base.
-Catanzarita has now reached base safely in eight consecutive games and Manto has extended her hitting streak to five straight games.
