Stony Brook, NY – Behind a six-strikeout outing from
Carley Ernst and timely hitting from the Hofstra softball team, the Pride claimed a 6-0 shutout win over Stony Brook in the second of a three-game CAA series on an overcast Saturday afternoon from University Field.
Hofstra is now 17-26 overall and 12-11 in league play as the Pride looks to lock down the final spot in the fast-approaching CAA Championship. Meanwhile, Stony Brook drops to 26-21 and 16-7 in the conference.
After two scoreless innings, Hofstra took a 3-0 lead in the third inning. After
Chelsea Villar drew a walk,
Alanna Morse dropped a double down the left field line to score the opening run, and
Dahlia Palacio launched a 1-1 pitch just over the right field wall for the first home run of her college career to put the visitors ahead by three. As Ernst and the Hofstra defense kept the next 13 Stony Brook batters from crossing home, Villar smacked a double into the gap in left field to score
Nicole Cancel and make it 4-0 Hofstra, and the Pride added another pair of runs as Morse and
Mackenzie Fitzgerald took advantage of a throwing error on a single to score and make it 6-0.
Ernst retired six Stony Brook batters via the strikeout and allowed only three hits in a complete-game performance, her second of the season, while Mackenzie and Morse tallied two hits each.
The series between the Pride and the Seawolves concludes on Sunday, April 27, at 2 p.m.
NOTES:
-Hofstra is now 23-13 all-time versus Stony Brook. The Pride snaps a four-game regular season losing streak against the Seawolves
-Ernst hasn't allowed an earned run in her last 13 innings pitched.
-Outhitting Stony Brook 11-3, Hofstra is now 12-4 when outhitting its opponent this season.
-Doubles by Morse and Villar gives Hofstra 68 for the season, passing the 67 doubles hit during the 2012 and 2014 seasons for 10th-most in a season in program history. The Pride needs another three doubles to tie and four to pass 71 doubles hit by the 2006 squad for ninth-most in a season in school-history.
