By Joshua Harman
Last week it was the Throgs Neck Bridge. Softball coach Bill Edwards might be in search of another bridge this week. With the cancellation of yesterday afternoon’s softball game against the Binghamton Bearcats, it marked the fifth home game that has been washed out by rain or snow. The Pride has yet to play a game at the Hofstra Softball Stadium.
Last weekend, though, the Pride played its first game in three weeks. They headed to Wilmington, NC, to play UNCW three times. Opening with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, the Pride shook the rust off early. With the game tied at one after three innings, a pair of singles started the fourth inning and a Laura Hendrickson passed ball set up sophomore third baseman Tara Ulrich to break the game open with a two-run double. Ulrich would later score to make it 4-1.
Right fielder Hailey Clark started her weekend showing of power in the sixth inning with a solo home run. The Pride managed to scratch out one more run against the Seahawks. Amy Belonick shut the door for starter Alexis Alcantara to get her first save of the season in the Pride’s 6-2 win. Alcantara (2-2) got the win spreading out a run and four hits in four innings of work.
The late afternoon was not as kind to the Pride. Hailey Clark pushed the Pride into the lead in the second inning, 3-2, with her second home run of the afternoon. It would be a trio of errors in the fifth that cost the Pride their lead. They fell behind 6-4 and would go on to lose the game, 6-5. Starting pitcher Adrienne Clark was the victim in the nightcap, her record falling to 3-8. Lisa Wambold went 2-for-2 with a home run, two RBI’s, and three runs scored.
It took awhile for the Pride to get started in the rubber match against UNCW on Sunday morning. Down two runs with only six outs left, the Pride batters jumped
on Seahawks pitcher Jess Luckett. Freshman Ashley Lane hit a single with two runners in scoring position to tie the game. Looking more like last year’s team, the Pride had two home runs, one by Tara Ulrich and one by Hailey Clark, to cap off the five run rally in the sixth inning. In the bottom half of the inning, the Seahawks managed two runs against Danielle Stallone. Adrienne Clark came in and picked up her second save to the give the Pride a 5-4 win.
Two out of three wins improves the Pride to 8-12 overall, 2-1 in the CAA. UNCW is now 14-21 (1-2 CAA). Ashley Lane picked up CAA Rookie of the Week honors for the second time this season. Two doubles and 3 runs batted in were included in her 5-for-10 batting for the weekend. Hailey Clark was not honored but she did have three home runs, one in each game.
The rain on Wednesday gives the Pride a full week off. However it delays Coach Edwards from a shot at getting his 500th win. He will have to wait until Tuesday when the Pride will finally have their home opener against Boston University for a doubleheader. If more rain comes though, keep your eyes open on the Verrazano or GW Bridge.
Softball wins but is still waiting to play a home game.