The Hofstra University softball team dropped the final game of their series against the University of Delaware 9-0 on Sunday, March 23. The Pride fell to 6-20 overall and 3-6 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play, while the Fightin’ Blue Hens now sit at 18-10 with a 7-2 conference record.
Despite the home loss, the weekend was still a success for Hofstra as they won a CAA series for the first time this season, with wins in the first two games of the three-game set.
Anna Butler started in the circle for the Pride for the second time this season. She escaped a dicey first inning thanks to Mackenzie Fitzgerald who turned an unassisted double play at the hot corner.
After Hofstra’s bats failed to do damage in the bottom half of the opening frame, Butler ran into trouble. She put the first two batters on base, and then Chloe Blantz made her pay with a three-run home run to dead center field. Ellie Mulligan then ripped a double, which ended Butler’s day in the circle. Carley Ernst relieved Butler with no outs and limited the damage to three runs, striking out two Blue Hens batters and not allowing the inherited runner to score.
The Pride threatened in the home-half of the second, Sophia Polzella walked and Fitzgerald ripped a base hit up the middle to put a runner in scoring position with one out. Delaware starter, Billie Kerwood, buckled down, though, winning a nine-pitch battle with Carmella Gallagher by striking out the second baseman before inducing a fielder’s choice from Lily Yepez to escape the inning unscathed.
After a quick third inning from Ernst, Chelsea Villar led off the bottom half with a double and reached third on a throwing error. She ran on contact when Butler grounded a ball to second. Delaware second baseman, Katie Scheivert, made a heads-up play and gunned down Villar at home to keep the Pride off the board. Kerwood survived another long at bat, striking out Alanna Morse on 10 pitches to send the game to the fourth inning, where the Blue Hens broke things open.
Blantz led off the frame and reached second base thanks to a throwing error from Ernst. Later, she scored one batter with Mulligan’s second double of the afternoon. Mulligan scored two batters later with an RBI single from Scheivert. After a strikeout, the beat rolled on for Delaware. Sydney singled and then reached second on the throw, and then Shaffer and Scheivert both scored on the inning’s second error to make it 7-0 in favor of the Blue Hens. Ernst ended the damage by striking out Morgan Hess.
The Pride were held hitless in the game’s final three innings by Kerwood, who twirled a six-inning complete game, only allowing two hits while striking out seven.
“Sometimes I think we get a little bit outside of ourselves, and when we do that, we don’t see the ball as well, but I also thought we had some really competitive at bats,” said Hofstra head coach, Adrienne Clark.
While Ernst gave up six runs on five hits in relief, only two of those runs were earned. She struck out five Delaware hitters.
In the top of the sixth inning, Ernst gave up those two earned runs. Shaffer ripped a two-run homer to put the Fightin’ Blue Hens up 9-0. The Pride went scoreless in the bottom of the frame, and the game ended via run rule.
The Pride’s next outing was a CAA matchup at Campbell University. Game one of the three-game series was scheduled for Friday, March 28 at 5 p.m.
