The Hofstra University softball team’s comeback attempt fell short on Sunday, March 30, in Buies Creek, North Carolina, when they fell to Campbell University 5-3 in the final contest of their three-game series. The Pride fell to 8-21 with a 5-7 conference mark while the Fighting Camels improved to 23-10, along with a 9-3 record in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play.
Despite Sunday’s loss, the weekend was a successful one for Hofstra: The Pride won the first two games of the road series, pulling off a surprising series win against the Campbell, who are tied for first in the conference with the University of Delaware.
After a scoreless first inning on both sides, the Fighting Camels pounced on Hofstra starter Emma Falen in the second inning. Last week’s CAA Pitcher of the Week took the circle in all three games of the series, earning a shutout win on Friday and closing out Saturday’s victory. The nine innings that she had already pitched over the weekend may have impacted her performance in the closing game.
Amber DeSena ripped a ground-rule double to become Campbell’s first baserunner of the early afternoon battle, Charlie Montgomery followed the extra-base hit by grounding the ball right to Falen, who fielded it cleanly but couldn’t find the glove of first baseman Anna Butler. Montgomery reached second on the play, and DeSena crossed the plate to open the scoring.
The floodgates opened from there, Alyssa Armijo laid down a sacrifice bunt down the third base line to move Montgomery to third. Then Allyiah Swiney came up big with the inning’s second ground-rule double, making the game 2-0. Emma Slutzah walked after a seven-pitch battle, and Haley Krebs reached first on an infield single after fighting off a two-strike pitch.
Tyra Parker moved the runners from station to station with an RBI single which scored Swiney. With the bases still loaded, Madison Ford broke the game open with a two-run single into centerfield. The last three hits of the inning came with two strikes. Falen’s typically high strikeout numbers took a hit on Sunday; she only struck two batters out after sending eight Campbell hitters back to the bench by way of the K on Friday.
Hofstra’s bats struggled in the first four innings with only three base runners, two of which came in the form of Dahlia Palacio, who singled in the first and fourth innings, but never made it past second base. Alanna Morse also singled in the top of the second.
The Pride’s lineup woke up in the top of the fifth though, Gemma D’Orazio led off with a double in the gap and moved to third on a base hit from Morse, who finished with a 3-3 performance. Sophia Polzella then got the Pride on the board by smacking a single into left field which scored D’Orazio. Nicole Cancel then battled with Campbell starter Hannah Leierer for seven pitches before ripping a ground rule double, the third such hit of the game for either side and bringing Morse home. Leierer’s day ended after that, but Campbell’s new pitcher, Megan Gregory, received a rude welcome from pinch hitter Olivia Malinowski, who brought Polzella home with a sacrifice fly. However, Gregory buckled down and set Chelsea Villar down on strikes before inducing a flyout from Palacio, ending Hofstra’s threat and maintaining Campbell’s 5-3 lead.
The Pride didn’t threaten again, Leierer struck out four batters in three innings, only giving up one hit and locking down the 5-3 win, salvaging the series for the Fighting Camels.
The Pride have a few days off before they head to Philadelphia for a CAA series against Drexel University. The 2-26 Dragons have struggled mightily so far this season; the Pride will look to pick up some conference wins against them next weekend. The first pitch is set for 3 p.m. on Friday, April 4.
