The Hofstra University softball team’s struggles continued Sunday, March 16, when they fell 4-2 to Towson University. The Tigers won the rubber game of the series, taking the final two games of the three-game set from the Pride. Hofstra now sits at 2-19 with a 1-5 conference record, while Towson improved to 10-13 with an even 3-3 record in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play.
“I think we battled hard, I think we competed hard and I think we did some things that we haven’t been consistently doing yet this year,” said Hofstra head coach Adrienne Clarke. “I’m really proud of how they continue to fight and show up for each other.
Coming off a 0-1 shutout on Saturday, Hofstra’s bats came out swinging in the bottom of the first after a 1-2-3 inning from Hofstra starter Emma Falen. Chelsea Villar led off the inning and worked a seven-pitch at-bat, eventually singing into centerfield. Dahlia Palacio then ripped a double into the right-centerfield gap, which brought Villar to the plate, giving the Pride a 1-0 lead before Towson could record an out. Palacio put herself in position for a sacrifice by stealing third and Alanna Morse took advantage, hitting a deep fly ball to center field to bring home the second run of the afternoon.
After surviving the first, Towson starting pitcher Amanda Medina buckled down and dominated the home team, only allowing two hits the rest of the way while shutting down the Pride’s lineup. Medina, who typically pitches to contact, struck out six Hofstra batters in her seven-inning, complete-game performance. Medina used her breaking ball effectively, freezing Hofstra hitters and forcing some wild swings.
In the circle for Hofstra, Falen’s pitch location was on point early, painting the corners and shutting down Towson, sitting down the first eight batters and striking out three batters in the first three innings. Falen, who was the winning pitcher in Friday’s 4-1 Hofstra win over the Tigers, ran into a bit of trouble in the top of the fourth.
Towson put their first significant traffic on the basepaths thanks to consecutive hits from Cara Bohner and Kristin Toland. Isabella Canesi moved Bohner to third with a fielder’s choice, and Taylor Broadbent cut the Tigers’ deficit in half with a hard-hit single down the left-field line.
Both teams were quiet until the sixth when Towson threatened again. Toland and Canesi both reached on singles and Broadbent once again came up big, ripping a double into left-center field, scoring Toland and tying the game at two runs apiece.
Falen settled down after a mound visit and induced a pop-out from Madyson Peters. But with two outs, Alyssa Myint drove the first pitch she saw into center field, scoring two and giving the Tigers their first lead of the game, a 4-2 advantage.
Even though Falen was charged with the loss, Clarke was still pleased with her performance.
“[Falen] did fantastic,” Clarke said. ”She threw so many good pitches and had so many, sort of, ’dink’ hits that just kind of found the hole, but she never stopped battling and finding ways to get outs.”
Medina stayed dialed in for Towson, allowing only one baserunner in the final two innings. She fielded the final out herself, corralling a ground ball from pinch hitter Olivia Malinowski and throwing to first to complete the win.
The Pride took a break from CAA play in their next game to face Howard University on Tuesday, March 18.
