Hempstead, NY – The Hofstra softball team recorded a 3-0 shutout win over visiting Monmouth from Bill Edwards Stadium on Saturday, closing out the 2025 regular season with a series-sweep of the Hawks.
Hofstra ends the regular season 20-26 overall and 15-12 in the CAA, while Monmouth ends its season 11-42 overall and 7-20 against league opponents.
After four scoreless innings for both sides, Hofstra broke through on an RBI single by
Chelsea Villar in the fifth inning. After a lead-off single by
Olivia Malinowski and a five-pitch walk to
Kellie Sandas,
Lily Yepez moved both into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Villar stepped up next and won a ten-pitch battle against Monmouth's pitcher Izzy Bonacci with a single through the gap between third base and shortstop, allowing Malinowski to score and make it 1-0 Pride.
Anna Butler came to the plate and ripped a 3-2 pitch up the middle to score Sandas and Villar for the 3-0 Hofstra lead.
Emma Falen and
Carley Ernst combined for a four-hit shutout against the Hawks, with Falen allowing three hits in 65 pitches and five innings for her 11th win of the season, while Ernst allowed only one hit in two innings of work to pick up her fifth save of the season. Malinowski went 2-3 on the day, while Butler, Villar, and
Alanna Morse were responsible for three of Hofstra's five hits.
Hofstra enters the 2025 CAA Championship as the sixth-seed, and they will face three-seed Charleston on Wednesday, May 7, at 2:30 p.m. from Campbell's Amanda LittleJohn Stadium in Buies Creek, North Carolina.
NOTES:
-Hofstra is now 8-3 all-time versus Monmouth. Hofstra has now won four consecutive meetings against the Hawks.
-With a double by Morse, Hofstra has hit 73 doubles on the season. The 2025 team is now tied with the 2016 for the eighth-most doubles in a season in program-history.
-Hofstra held Monmouth 1-8 with runners on base and 0-5 with runners in scoring position.
-This was the 12th multi-hit game of Malinowski's career.
-Butler leads the team with 11 multi-RBI games this season.
