The Hofstra Pride softball team dropped a close game to Seton Hall, losing 4-3 on a walk-off double Tuesday afternoon.
After the loss, the Pride is 14-17 on the year. Jessica Peslak took the loss for Hofstra, falling to 1-3. Brittany Allocca and Courtney Scarpato both hit long balls for the Pride as the team fell just short of a win in South Orange, New Jersey.
After today, the Pride has hit multiple homeruns in six of its last seven games.
Alyssa Irons got the call to start and had a solid outing for Hofstra – pitching six innings, giving up three hits, two earned runs and striking out four Pirates. This outing pulled Irons’ earned run average down to an even 6.00. Her ERA has dropped from 8.30 to 6.00 in her last five performances.
“[Irons] is getting more consistent,” said Hofstra head coach Larissa Anderson. “Her routine is outstanding, she’s throwing good pitches. Every outing that she has had, she is continually getting better.”
Seton Hall scored in the first inning and held on to the slim 1-0 lead going into the fifth inning. Then, Scarpato tied the game up at one with her first career homerun.
“[Scarpato] is putting good swings on good pitches and the more she sees live pitching, the better she’s going to be,” Coach Anderson said.
Scarpato went 2-for-2 on the day with a RBI and a walk, extending her team-leading batting average to .324.
Later in the inning, Nikki Michalowski singled, scoring Kristin Hallam and giving the Pride a one-run lead.
The Pirates tied the game again in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Allocca gave the lead right back to Hofstra with a homerun of her own in the top of the sixth. That was Allocca’s fifth homerun of the year.
Irons’ day was done after six innings, and Peslak came in for the Pride in the seventh inning with a 3-2 lead. With two outs and two runners on base, Seton Hall sent in Alyssa Prukop to pinch-hit and she hit a walk-off RBI double to end the game.
“Heartbreaker. You hate to lose in the bottom of the seventh, especially with a one run lead,” Coach Anderson said. “It does come down to that seventh inning, but we did have opportunities early on.”
The Pride returns home to take on LIU Brooklyn April 12. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
