Union, NJ – Ryleigh Smith belted two of the first home runs in her collegiate career to lead the way for the Hofstra softball team in a 9-1 win over Monmouth on Saturday from the Cougar Softball Complex on the campus of Kean University. The series-clinching win puts Hofstra at 8-11 overall and 5-0 in CAA action, while Monmouth slips to 6-14 overall and 0-5 in league play.
 
Smith sent a 1-2 pitch over the wall in right-centerfield in the third inning to give the Pride an early 1-0 lead over the Hawks, and an RBI single by Alanna Morse two batters later made it a 2-0 score. Chelsea Villar made it 3-0 to the Pride in the fourth inning when she took advantage of a wild pitch to cross home plate, and Smith blasted her second home run of the day to center, scoring Nicole Cancel and upping the lead to five.
 
Monmouth clawed a run back in the fifth inning with an RBI single, but Hofstra put the game away for good with a four-run seventh inning to seal the win and the series. Lily Yepez drove in an RBI with a single through the middle of the infield, and Villar smacked a bases-loaded double to bring everyone home.
 
Villar had a 3-4 day at the plate with a pair of doubles, while Smith and Yepez both tallied two hits against the Hawks. In the circle, Emma Falen went the distance in a complete game win, scattering seven hits and two hits against three strikeouts.
 
The series concludes at noon on Sunday from Union, New Jersey.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra is now 10-3 all-time against Monmouth. This is Hofstra's sixth consecutive win over the Hawks.
-Smith is the first Hofstra softball player to hit two home runs in a single game since Aliya Catanzarita against UNCW on March 29, 2024.
-Falen and the Hofstra defense stranded seven Monmouth runners on base.