The Hofstra Pride softball team failed to complete the two-game sweep against the University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens, on Friday, April 28, at Bill Edwards Stadium. Hofstra completed a miraculous comeback in game one, winning 7-5, before Delaware handily bested the Pride in a convincing 9-1 victory in game two.
After the two games, the Pride now sit at a 21-24 record overall and a 13-7 record in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) competition. Meanwhile, Delaware now lands at 26-18 overall and a league-leading 15-5 in conference play.
“I thought it was a good day overall,” said Hofstra head coach Adrienne Clark. “I thought we came out and adjusted in game one and got the win, and I thought in game two we were, offensively, seeing the ball well. I think we worked to kind of play our game, and we just didn’t get enough production and just not enough to get it done.”
In the first game, the Pride continued to showcase just how versatile they can be on the diamond, with five different players putting up an RBI. Chelsea Manto had the most, with two in the contest. On top of that, seven different players recorded a hit, with shortstop Meghan Giordano and third baseman Alanna Morse leading the way with two each.
Hofstra’s Julia Apsel struggled on the mound in her start during game one, pitching four innings and allowing six hits and four runs with no strikeouts. Anna Butler stepped up in relief, however, throwing for three innings and allowing only two hits with one run.
“[Butler] has always done such a good job at being a consistent fixture of just doing what you can and staying within herself,” Clark said. “She came in and just threw such competitive pitches, and one thing that makes Anna unique, of all our pitchers on staff, is that she also can’t play field, she also can’t hit, so you just have sort of like this ball player out there working to throw 100 pitches, and she did great.”
Game one was all about the out-of-nowhere comeback from the Pride, starting in the fourth inning with the home team down 4-0. First, Giordano scored an unearned run after a reach from a throwing error, scoring the first run for Hofstra in the opening game. A single by Morse to right field brought home Becca Vaillancourt to cut the deficit to 4-2 at the end of the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, with the Pride down 5-2, Morse led the charge for the late game rally, crossing home plate after a single to right field by Olivia Malinowski. Another base hit, this time by Kasey Collins, brought home Madison McKevitt to make it 5-4. Shortly after, Manto walked onto the plate and reached on a field error, not only bringing in Kayla Wilson for the score, but also Collins, grabbing their first lead of the game, 6-5. The Pride added one last run in the inning to extend the lead to a two-run advantage.
Butler held strong at the top of the seventh inning, shutting down any chances of a Blue Hens rally and picking up another big conference victory.
Game two left little to be desired for Hofstra, as the Pride could never find solid footing over Delaware, coming up way short in a near shutout loss. Kiara Mills was one of the standouts for the Blue Hens, recording three RBIs, two hits and two runs in the victory. Chloe Blantz also shined for Delaware, recording three RBIs as well, to go along with one hit at the plate.
Three Hofstra pitchers came to the mound in game two. Annabella Pisapia pitched 1.1 innings, giving up four hits, two runs and two errors. Nikki Mullin put up 2.1 innings of work and allowed six hits, four runs, four errors and one strikeout. Lastly, Butler tossed 3.1 innings giving up three hits, three runs and one strikeout. Delaware’s Taylor Wroten pitched a complete game with only one run allowed, three hits and two strikeouts.
Hofstra wraps up its three-game series against Delaware on Saturday, April 29. The first pitch is set for 12 p.m. and can be streamed live on FloSoftball.
Photo courtesy of Pete Coco
