The Hofstra University softball team was unable to maintain a 4-2 seventh inning lead against the College of Charleston, who put up four runs in the final frame and defeated the Pride 6-4 in game one of their doubleheader on Friday, April 18. The Pride and the Cougars are neck and neck in the Coastal Athletic Association standings, with a 12-6 record for Charleston coming into the three-game set and a 10-8 mark for Hofstra.
The 2-3-4 hitters in the Cougars’ lineup pieced together the late comeback. Austy Miller brought home the first run of the inning on a double to the left center field wall. Kennedy Rhue kept the rally going with a two-RBI single to right field, to take the lead. Leela Langston delivered the final blow with a double to right center field, bringing Rhue home to score.
Charleston’s Kendall Thackston was awarded the win after allowing four runs in the first two innings. She settled in and shut the Pride’s offense down. Thackston pitched a complete game, allowing two earned runs on six hits while striking out six batters.
Emma Falen was tagged with the loss despite a strong start to her outing. Through the first six innings, Falen allowed only two runs. She struggled in the seventh, getting pulled after allowing four runs to cross. She worked 6.2 innings in the circle, allowing six earned runs on eight hits and two walks.
Falen struggled with command to start, hitting the first batter she faced, Jay Wrightsman. Wrightsman swiped second and advanced to third on a ground out from Rhue. Langston walked and stole the open bag, putting two runners in scoring position for Julia Sitterding. Sitterding laced an RBI single to left field and moved Rhue to third. A rundown allowed Langston to take home and give the Cougars the early lead.
The Pride answered with a three-run first inning. Chelsea Villar was hit on the second pitch Thackston tossed and made her way to third base on a bunt single from Mackenzie Fitzgerald. With two runners on, Dahlia Palacio delivered, driving a two-RBI single to left field, taking second on an error. Palacio took third on a passed ball, and Gemma D’Orazio worked a full count walk. Palacio and D’Orazio used their speed to work a double steal, which gave the Pride an early 3-2 lead.
Falen dealt three strikeouts in the second, and the Pride kept the momentum flowing in the bottom of the inning. Nicole Cancel reached base on a bunt, and Lily Yepez bunted her over to second. Villar grounded out, allowing Cancel to take third, setting up Anna Butler for an RBI single to left field.
Both pitchers settled in after their rocky starts through the middle of the game. Thackston allowed only two other hits, a double to each Palacio and Butler. Falen allowed just one hit from the second to the sixth, a single to Miller.
The Cougars put up a huge seventh-inning comeback, bringing in the go-ahead run. Karlee Hughes and Bricelyn Bedenbaugh started the rally with back-to-back singles. Falen got the next two outs, putting the Pride an out away from a victory. The heart of Charleston’s order had other plans: Miller, Rhue and Langston came through and strung some hits together, turning a 4-2 deficit down to their last out into a 6-4 win.
The Pride looked to bounce back in game two of the doubleheader at Bill Edwards Stadium. The first pitch was scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
