Aspel pitches perfect game against Hampton

Hofstra University softball ace Julia Aspel had a great day on the field on Saturday, April 27, tossing a perfect game that lead to a 1-0 victory over the Hampton University Pirates at Bill Edwards Stadium in Hempstead. Not only did the Pride get to see an incredible individual performance, but they clinched a spot in the Colonial Athletic Conference (CAA) championship tournament for the fourth consecutive season.

The ace of the Pride’s pitching staff was untouchable, ad Apsel struck out eight batters on 83 pitches en route to her 15th win of the season, eight of which have been shutouts. Apsel’s perfecto was the 11th in division one softball this season, and the first by a Hofstra pitcher since May 19, 2018, when Sophie Dandola twirled a perfect game in the NCAA tournament against the University of North Carolina Greensboro in the Columbia regional.

While Hampton pitcher Angelina Branch did not play as much of a perfect, she also had a spectacular outing. Branch pitched the entire game, going six innings and throwing exactly 100 pitches, striking out two. While she only gave up one run, Branch often worked in and out of trouble, as she walked five batters and had 11 baserunners clogging the basepaths.

The Pride’s offense struggled mightily throughout the game, only collecting three hits, and stranding six runners.

Hofstra scored their only run in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Pride was helped by two errors by Hampton third baseman Brooke Williams, which allowed Nicole Cancel and Chelsea Manto to reach base. A throwing error by catcher Emily Kepple moved both runners into scoring position before Aliya Catanzarita just missed a home run to dead center, but the sac fly was enough to bring home Cancel for the game’s only run.

This was the Pride’s third consecutive win and is now in their second-longest streak of the season. The Pride have never lost to Hampton in all five meetings.

The season wrapped up for Hofstra on Sunday, April 28, where they won against the Pirates. The team will also honor their departing seniors with a pregame senior day ceremony. The Pride will have one more series after this, a three-game road set starting Thursday, May 2, against the College of Charleston Cougars in Charleston, South Carolina. The first pitch is on Thursday, May 2, at 5 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Alexis Friedman