The Hofstra University softball team concluded their weekend at the Longhorn Invitational with a 4-0 loss to the No. 2 ranked University of Texas Longhorns. Hofstra was swept in the tournament, five games to none, but some of them could be considered moral victories.
The Pride’s ace, Julia Apsel, got the start for the third time in the tournament. Apsel was lights out for four innings until Texas ran away with it. She surrendered four runs on 10 hits and two walks but fanned the Longhorns five times over six innings of work.
Bella Dayton led things off for Texas in the bottom of the fifth inning, as she laid down a bunt for a hit. After Dayton advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt, Mia Scott doubled to right center. Dayton came around to score, giving the Longhorns a 1-0 lead. Scott then scored on a single down the line off the bat of Katie Stewart. Texas capped off a three-run inning with an RBI single off the bat of Leighann Goode.
Hofstra got four base knocks in the afternoon. Becca Vaillancourt, Aliya Catanzarita, Olivia Malinowski and Alanna Morse handled those four hits.
The Pride were shutout in the ballgame and committed two errors, but one Hofstra fielder flashed the leather in this one. In the third inning, freshman second baseman Nicole Cancel cut off a ground ball to her right in the hole and glove-flipped the ball to Morse who was waiting at second base for the force out. While they have been committing more errors than they’re used to, a play like this may give the team some confidence moving forward.
While the team’s losing streak extended to six games, they hung around arguably the best team in the country for the entirety of the game after losing to that same team the night before, 13-0. Some coaches don’t like to hear the term “moral victory,” but in this case, the Pride played Penn State and Texas this weekend with one loss each and managed to hang with them for the course of the game. Finding the positives in these losses can potentially surge this team with needed confidence ahead of conference play.
After the game against Hofstra, the Longhorns outscored their opponents in the Longhorn Invitational, 44-2. The Pride didn’t allow a run until the fifth inning of this game.
Hofstra currently sits 2-10 ahead of Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play beginning Friday, March 8, against Towson University. The Pride finished pre-conference play 5-13 a year ago and still won the CAA championship. Nevertheless, a long season awaits in Hempstead.
Photo courtesy of Aaron Meullion
