Hempstead, NY – The Hofstra softball team closed out its home 2024 schedule with a 2-1 win over visiting Hampton from Bill Edwards Stadium to complete the series sweep of the Pirates on Senior Day. The Pride finishes the series with a record of 19-23 overall and 15-9 in the Coastal Athletic Association, and Hampton is 15-33 and 6-18 in the conference.
Aliya Catanzarita drove in Sunday's opening run on a hard-hit grounder past the shortstop, allowing
Becca Vaillancourt to cross home all the way from second base in the first inning. Vaillancourt scored the Pride's second run on a double over the shortstop to score
Kayla Wilson and make it a 2-0 game. Hofstra had numerous opportunities to add to its lead throughout the game, but the Hampton defense prevented
Fresh off her perfect game on Saturday,
Julia Apsel allowed seven Hampton hits and walked two batters through six innings without a run scored. After leading off the seventh inning with a swinging strikeout, Hampton got three baserunners on with one out. Hampton's Leah Maduro broke Apsel's streak of 14 consecutive scoreless innings when she hit a SAC fly to deep center, allowing Hampton to halve Hofstra's lead to 2-1, but Apsel retired the final batter with runners on second and third via the strikeout.
Apsel finished with six strikeouts to pick up her 16th win of the season. Vaillancourt went 1-1 with a walk and hit-by-pitch, and Catanzarita recorded two hits in three trips to the plate. Wilson,
Mackenzie Fitzgerald, and
Chelsea Manto also tallied hits against the Pirates.
Hofstra concludes the regular season down in South Carolina with a three-game CAA series against Charleston, beginning on Thursday at 5 p.m.
NOTES:
-Prior to today's game, Head Coach
Adrienne Clark and the Hofstra softball coaching staff honored
Kayla Wilson,
Aliya Catanzarita,
Chelsea Manto,
Annabella Pisapia,
Marisa Ogden,
Becca Vaillancourt, and
Brianna Morse in a pre-game Senior Day ceremony.
-Hofstra moves to 6-0 all-time versus Hampton. This is Hofstra's second consecutive sweep of the Pirates since Hampton joined the CAA.
-Hampton stranded 11 runners on base to Hofstra's eight.
-Hofstra is 15-3 when outhitting the opponent.