Baltimore, MD – Emma Falen and Carley Ernst combined for 11 strikeouts and two hits allowed in a terrific pitching performance from the two, as the Hofstra softball team picked up a 4-2 win over UMBC on Wednesday from The Diamond at UMBC.
 
Hofstra improves to 4-19 following the win, and today's loss puts UMBC at 6-19 on the year.
 
The Retrievers led the game off with a single, and a two-run home run put the home team ahead 2-0 early against the Pride. Mackenzie Fitzgerald led the second inning with a double to right center, and after Fitzgerald advanced to third on one of UMBC's four wild pitches, Alanna Morse belted her second home run of the season to even the score at 2-2. Carmella Gallagher was hit by a pitch with two outs, and she advanced all the way to third base on back-to-back wild pitches. After Lily Yepez drew a seven-pitch walk to put runners on the corners, Gallagher scored the go-ahead run on the fourth Retriever wild pitch of the inning, making it a 3-2 Hofstra lead.
 
After allowing two hits and a walk in the bottom of the first, Falen settled in and threw three innings of no-hit softball, retiring the next nine consecutive batters with five of her eight strikeouts coming during the hitless stretch. Ernst came in to start the fifth inning and continued where Falen left off, not allowing a Retriever on base for the remainder of the game while recording three strikeouts.
 
The Pride tacked on an insurance run in the seventh inning when Chelsea Villar slammed a 2-2 pitch off the foul pole in left field for a solo home run, her second of the season, to up Hofstra's lead to 4-2.
 
Dahlia Palacio went 2-4 at the plate with a double and a single and she stole a base in the win, while Morse recorded two RBIs and drew a walk. Also recording hits were Fitzgerald, Villar, and Anna Butler on a double in the seventh inning.
 
Hofstra returns home to host Delaware in a three-game CAA series, beginning on Friday, March 21, at 5 p.m.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra is now 2-2 all-time versus UMBC.
-Falen has struck out 21 batters in her last three outings.
-This is Palacio's third consecutive game with a double.