Hempstead, NY – Hosting its second consecutive Coastal Athletic Association series-opening doubleheader, the Hofstra softball team split its two games against visiting Charleston from Bill Edwards Stadium. The Cougars took the first game 6-4 before the Pride won game two 6-2.
Hofstra is now 15-23 overall and 11-9 in the CAA following today's split, and Charleston is now sitting at 23-23 overall and 13-7 in league play.
Charleston took an early 2-0 lead after one inning, but Hofstra bounced back in the bottom of the first with a three-run frame to take a one-run lead. After
Chelsea Villar drew a lead-off hit by pitch and advanced to third on a perfectly-placed bunt by
Mackenzie Fitzgerald,
Dahlia Palacio drove a single into left field to score the opening run, while a fielding error on the same play allowed her to reach third while scoring Fitzgerald to even the score. After
Gemma D'Orazio drew a seven-pitch walk, she and Palacio engaged in a successful double steal, allowing Palacio to score and make it 3-2 to the hosts.
Hofstra added a fourth run of the game in the second inning, as
Anna Butler singled home
Nicole Cancel to make it 4-2 for Hofstra. Neither team was able to change the score one way or another from the third inning until the top of the seventh, when the Cougars hung four on the board to go up by two. Fitzgerald was hit by a pitch with a 2-2 count to put the tying run on base, but
Alanna Morse popped up to the Charleston third baseman to end the game.
The Cougars scored first in the second inning, but the Pride responded in the fourth inning with a trio of runs to take a 3-1 lead. Butler led off the inning with a stand-up double, and Fitzgerald advanced her to third with a bunt single, putting runners on the corners and no outs for Morse. Morse delivered a single to right to score Butler and tie the game at 1-1, before
Olivia Malinowski drove a 1-0 pitch to the wall in left center for a two-run double. Hofstra tacked on another three runs in the sixth inning with an RBI single from Malinowski and a two-run single by Butler, making it a 6-1 score. Charleston clawed a run back in the seventh inning, but
Carley Ernst forced a game-ending double play to secure the win.
Palacio went 3-5 on the day with a double and two RBIs, while Butler drove in three RBIS on four hits, and Malinowski delivered two hits and three RBIs. Ernst picked up the win in game two, pitching all seven innings and striking out five opposing batters, while
Emma Falen pitched game one and went 6.2 innings with six strikeouts.
The series concludes on Saturday, April 19, at 1 p.m.
NOTES:
-Palacio has extended her hitting streak to 12 games.
-With a double in game one, Palacio now has 17 doubles on the season. She moves into a tie with Robyn Trezise (17, 1995) and Caryn Bailey (17, 2013) for the fourth-most doubles in a season in program history.
-Game two was the team-leading 10th multi-RBI game of the season for Butler.
-Hofstra is now 19-10 all-time versus Charleston.
