On any team, collective success is always above individual accomplishments, however, for the Hofstra University softball team, Meghan Giordano and Kasey Collins have carried the Pride all season long. The two graduate students form Hofstra’s middle infield duo and are both having outstanding seasons in 2023.

“They have such an incredible impact,” said Hofstra’s head coach Adrienne Clark. “They are really incredible people and are incredibly competitive. When you have people that are in their fifth-year, with that sort of mentality and mindset, working together, it really is so dynamic to be able to have them in the roles that they’re in.”

In the case of Giordano, her stellar campaign comes as no surprise. A member of the all-CAA team last year, Giordano was selected to the conference’s preseason watchlist prior to this season. With 1.091 OPS and a .680 slugging percentage, she poses a dangerous threat in the middle of Hofstra’s lineup for opposing pitchers.

“Some pitchers pitch to me, but for the majority, not too much,” Giordano said. “I don’t really like to think too much when I go up there or even before. It’s a see-ball-hit-ball kind of thing. Just wherever they’re pitching it is where I want to hit it to.”

Many of those pitches have ended up over the fence this year, as Giordano leads the CAA home run record with 13 thus far.

But while Giordano’s season was almost expected, the same can’t be said for her double-play partner. After hitting just .228 last year, Collins leads the Pride with a .331 batting average this season.

“I think for me, my biggest thing was just working offensively on my game,” Collins said. “I just kept my head down and worked really hard. Softball is a game of failure. You’re never going to be perfect all the time. You’re going to fail seven out of 10 times. But, if you focus on quality at-bats, the ball is going to find a hole, and you’re going to get on. I think, for me, that’s something I really focus on. Not the results but the process. I’m looking for that quality and working the count by hitting strikes and letting balls go. So I think understanding that the ball won’t always bounce your way has helped.”

While hitting back-to-back in Hofstra’s batting order, Collins and Giordano have a symbiotic relationship that forces opposing pitchers to make a difficult choice in the circle. Do they pitch to Collins, who bats second in the lineup, knowing that her team-leading .440 on-base percentage means she has a good chance of reaching base anyway, or pitch around her knowing that Giordano is next? Either way, Clark knows the team is going to score somehow.

“When you have the one-two punch like we do, they’ll always be at the top of the lineup,” Clark said. “The thing that is great about [Collins] is that she has done an incredible job of setting the tone and getting on base, allowing [Giordano] to take whatever the game is giving her, which sometimes is some pretty hard pitches to get a hold of. [Collins] is getting on base, and then you have someone like [Giordano] right behind her that is able to hit for power, put a bunt down and drive the gaps. It makes it easy.”

Playing softball at the collegiate level was a lifelong goal for both players. Giordano started playing little league baseball when she was six alongside her brother before transitioning to softball at age 12.

“I knew I wanted to play in college when I switched over,” Giordano said. “I didn’t necessarily know what that might look like, but it was always to be at the highest level I could be. From middle school up into high school, I realized, ‘Hey, maybe I can do this.’”

Meanwhile, Collins began playing at age seven and joined a travel team once she got to middle school. As she progressed, Collins continued to jump up in age groups. From 12U to 14U, she eventually joined a 18U team as a 15-year-old freshman in high school.

“In high school, knowing my abilities and hanging my own as a freshman playing with upperclassmen and being able to play on these elite travel teams allowed me to get opportunities to get recruited,” Collins said.

The individual paths that Giordano and Collins followed led them to join the Pride as freshmen in the fall of 2018, the legacy associated with the Hofstra softball program being a factor in both of their decisions.

“The legacy that past teams and generations have left, it’s a winning program and winning team,” Giordano said. “The atmosphere is excellent, and that’s something that I always wanted to be a part of.”

“I chose Hofstra for the legacy,” Collins said. “You look at how many conference championships there are and how many NCAA tournaments. The way this program is run, it’s hard work, grit and a lot of talent.”

Not only are Giordano and Collins leaders on the stat sheet for the Pride, but they’re the leaders in the dugout as well. As veteran members of the team, they set the example for everyone else to follow.

“If anybody has questions, they can come to either of us with concerns,” Giordano said. “I’ll be that person. It’s uncomfortable sometimes, but that’s where I’m most comfortable. I like to take care of the team as best I can.”

Although she’s only coached them for two years, Clark sees the impact that Giordano and Collins have had on the program during their time at Hofstra as well as the impact that Hofstra has had on them.

“They took the opportunity of a new coaching staff coming in with an open mindset and an open heart and have really embraced every critique we have given them, regardless of how challenging it is at times,” Clark said. “They’re open-minded and incredibly coachable. You see it in their statistics and the things they do off the field. It’s indicative of the approach that they have taken and the way they have utilized the information and the feedback to help themselves and the team.”

Now as graduate students, the two are doing what they can to give back to the program that has given them so much. Giordano and Collins have shaped their legacies and will leave them for the next generation that puts on the Hofstra uniform.

“We have a couple of weeks left, and I think it’s really important to leave this program in their hands and to continue where we left off,” Collins said. “I try to give advice here and there because there are a lot of girls stepping into leadership roles next year. I always try to lead by example. Whether it’s equipment, or it’s the hustle on and off the field. Those things are so important. If you’re a good person, you’re going to go very far.”

Photo courtesy of Stephen Gorchov/Hofstra Athletics