The Hofstra University softball team was shutout 7-0 in the first game of a doubleheader against the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) on Sunday, Feb. 15. The Pride struggled across opening weekend, losing their first four games.
The Warhawks pitching staff was lockdown, allowing just three hits across seven innings. Starter Maddie Nichols fanned three batters across 3.1 innings of work, allowing just one hit and one walk. The Warhawks’ bullpen of Tessa Ivy, Abagail Creighton and Ashanti McDade was spectacular, allowing just two hits and two walks in 3.2 innings.
ULM’s offense was evenly distributed, with eight different members of the Warhawks getting hits and five members earning RBIs. Hofstra’s offense struggled as Gabby Sultan, Alanna Morse and Dahlia Palacio were the only Pride players with hits.
Freshman pitcher Madison Steppe took the circle for the Pride in her second collegiate start. Steppe struggled to settle in, allowing a base hit to Kailey Monsef and back-to-back walks to Carys Platt and Meagan Brown. Steppe got out of early trouble, thanks to Gemma D’Orazio catching a baserunner stealing and forcing two fly outs.
Nichols, whom the Pride saw in their season opener, pitched to contact in the first and her middle infielders could not get the job done. Chelsea Villar and Morse both reached base on errors, but Nichols got out of the early traffic unscathed.
It was a pitcher’s duel through the first three scoreless innings until ULM crossed the plate four times in the fourth frame. Steppe began to lose command when she walked Meagan Brown and allowed a shallow double to Hollie Thomas. Meagan Brown came home with the help of her twin sister Morgan Brown’s sacrifice fly to right field. Elle Carter laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Thomas to third. Maryssa Zenzen brought Carter in to score on a single through a gap through the left side of the infield. Two-way threat Nichols also did damage at the plate, ripping an RBI double to the left-center field gap. The double ended Steppe’s outing and brought Emma Falen to the circle to get the Pride out of trouble with two outs.
Falen allowed back-to-back singles to Brooklin Lippert and Monsef, which plated the fourth run of the inning for the Warhawks. Falen got out of the inning with a strikeout of Platt.
ULM continued to swing big in the fifth inning, while the Pride’s offense remained idle. Meagan Brown opened the inning on single to center field. Thomas reached on a fielding error by Morse that advanced Meagan Brown to third and moved Thomas to second. Meagan Brown came home on a wild pitch and Carter brought the second run of the inning home on a single to left center, ending Falen’s outing. Emma Brennan came out of the bullpen to finish the sixth inning in the circle. Brennan allowed an RBI single to Lippert and finished the job via a fielder’s choice and strikeout.
Brennan closed out the game for the Pride. Through 2.2 innings of work, she allowed two hits, four walks and no earned runs. Brennan made a huge jump from last season thus far, pitching four innings and allowing three earned runs across three appearances. Brennan pitched to a 21.0 ERA last season across 12 innings in the circle.
The Pride looked for their first win in the Susan Cassidy-Lyke era in game two of the double header against ULM. First pitch was slated for 1:30 p.m.
