The Hofstra University softball team shut out Monmouth University 3-0 to complete the series sweep in the final game of the regular season on Saturday, May 3. The Pride finished regular season action with an overall record of 20-26 and a Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) record of 15-12. The Pride have secured the sixth seed in the CAA Championship tournament and will face off against the third-seeded College of Charleston on Wednesday, May 7.
Hofstra seniors Olivia Malinowski, Anna Butler, Haley Venturini and Kellie Sandas were honored in a pre-game Senior Day ceremony. All four seniors were four-year members of the program and a part of the 2023 CAA Championship team.
“They all bring something so unique to this program and this team, and we would not be where we are without each one of them,” said Hofstra head coach Adrienne Clark. “In any role that they serve they are all super important.”
Malinowski had a standout performance during her last regular season game, going 2-3 at the plate and scoring a run.
“[Malinowski] will always hold a special place in my heart,” Clark said. “She’s so driven and so committed and always wants to get the job done, but always wants to see others succeed.”
Sandas had an opportunity to pinch-hit in the fifth inning. She drew a walk and scored her first collegiate run. Butler also put together a great Senior Day, with a two-RBI single.
Emma Falen got the start after a 15-strikeout no-hitter performance against Monmouth on Thursday, May 1. Falen was lights out, allowing just three hits across five innings. She stranded five baserunners and allowed no earned runs. Freshman Carley Ernst got her fifth save of the season, coming in relief in the sixth and allowing just one hit in two innings.
“[Falen and Ernst] are doing such a great job at just battling and competing,” Clark said. “Every single pitch, they are just locked in one at a time, which is the most impressive part right now.”
It was a pitcher’s duel through the first four innings: Izzy Bonacci allowed just one hit through four innings but gave up a huge fifth inning, which was the difference in the game. Malinowski started the fifth inning rally with a bloop single into right field. Sandas was brought aboard on a pinch-hit walk. Lily Yepez moved the runners into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt, setting up Chelsea Villar for the game-leading RBI. Villar singled down the left field line and cruised into second on the throw home. Butler battled with a full count two RBI single up the middle.
Ernst came in relief and allowed just one hit, while striking out two baters, completing the shutout.
The Pride head to Buies Creek, North Carolina, on Wednesday, May 7, to take on Charleston in game one of the CAA Championships. Hofstra dropped two games to Charleston in mid-April.
“It’s a brand-new season, it’s a clean slate,” Clark said. “We have an incredible opportunity in front of us to get the job done and bring back some more hardware.”
