The Hofstra University softball team will move on to the next round of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) softball tournament after a 5-2 victory over Long Island rival Stony Brook University on Wednesday, May 10, at Bill Edwards Stadium.
“Our team really came out and played our game,” said Hofstra head coach Adrienne Clark. “When we do that, we’re a really hard team to beat.”
The Pride struck first, gaining four-runs in the second inning. Angelina Ioppolo and Aliya Catanzarita were issued back-to-back walks, scoring off Becca Vaillancourt’s hit.
“Becca, she’s just done so well staying composed,” Clark said. “Seeing the confidence to which she’s doing everything I think is the most impressive thing to me.”
Alanna Morse, the next person to stand at the plate, drew a walk. Madison McKevitt hit a sac bunt to push Vaillancourt to third and Morse to second. Kayla Wilson’s sac fly to center field gave Vaillancourt time to cross home plate. To round out the scoring, Kasey Collins hit a single to left field to score Morse, but she was caught in the field before scoring a run herself.
The Seawolves put up a run when Brooke Dye singled to center. Sofia Chambers grounded out but gave Dye enough room to advance to second. Alicia Orosco singled to center field, putting runners on the corners. Orosco was then caught stealing, but while the ball was away from the catcher, Dye raced to home.
Meghan Giordano calmly slid home for Hofstra’s final run of the day after Stony Brook’s back-to-back throwing errors allowed Catanzarita to reach third.
The Seawolves tacked on another run in the top of the ninth in a bases-loaded situation when Catherina Kupinski reached first on a fielder’s choice, scoring Shauna Nuss.
Julia Apsel picked up her eighth win this season, throwing a complete game and tying her own career-high for strikeouts at six.
“She did a phenomenal job,” Clark said. “She has been working so hard on pounding the zone, throwing her best game, hitting good spots; she’s really hitting her stride in her level of confidence in everything that she does.”
The Pride’s next challenge will be against the second-seeded UNC-Wilmington Seahawks on Thursday, May 11.
Photo courtesy of Matteo Bracco/CAA
