Brooklyn, NY – Gabriella Sultan crushed her first-career collegiate home run late, but the Hofstra softball team suffered a 6-3 defeat in a midweek non-conference game against LIU from LIU Softball Park in downtown Brooklyn.
 
The loss snaps Hofstra's six-game winning streak and puts the Pride's record at 13-18 on the year. The Sharks improved to 21-15 with the win.
 
LIU opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with an RBI single to the outfield, and the Sharks upped their lead to 4-0 with an RBI single and a two-run double in the second inning. The hosts scored another two runs on a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, making it 6-0 late in the game.
 
After Kayla Wilson led off the seventh with a single and Gianna Iaquinto was hit by pinch, Sultan came in for a pinch-hit situation and took a 1-2 pitch well over the wall in left field to halve LIU's lead to three with no outs. However, LIU recorded three straight outs to end the game.
 
Wilson led Hofstra with two hits in three at-bats, while Sultan, Villar, and Olivia Malinowski all recorded hits, and Iaquinto and Villar drew walks. Annabella Pisapia struck out two LIU batters in 2.0 innings of work. Marisa Ogden got the start and pitched 3.0 innings, and Anna Butler pitched the final inning.
 
The Pride's conference schedule resumes with a three-game series at home against Stony Brook, beginning on Friday, April 12, at 5 p.m. from Bill Edwards Stadium.
 
NOTES:
-This was the second-ever meeting between Hofstra and LIU at the Division I level. The series is tied at 1-1.
-LIU outhit Hofstra, 11-5.