The Hofstra Pride softball team returned home to Bill Edwards Stadium where they splitting a doubleheader with the Tigers of Towson University on Friday, April 7. Looking to redeem itself, the Pride won game one 9-1 via the mercy rule, and lost 12-5 in game two.
The Pride is now 14-20 on the season with a 7-3 record in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play. Towson goes to 17-17 overall with a 7-6 CAA record.
“Today was a good day,” said Hofstra head coach Adrienne Clark. “We were able to get game number one, and it’s always nice to start the series with a win. Not quite the outcome we were hoping for in game two, but I thought we did a good job competing.”
And competing is a term that Pride pitcher Julia Apsel took and ran with. Not only did she pitch all seven innings in game one, she was called upon to relieve in game two.
“[Apsel] did a phenomenal job,” Clark said. “She is such a dynamic pitcher, and today, she just focused on her game and threw some very competitive pitches that were very hard to hit.”
Game one saw Hofstra take a lead in the bottom of the third inning and never looked back. After Kayla Collins walked and then advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt, the white-hot Meghan Giordano drilled the 3-2 pitch down the left field line and hit her 12th home run of the season. Giordano has now hit five home runs in the last six games. Two batters later, Brianna Morse hit a solo shot for her second homer of the season.
“I think what [Giordano] does and has done a fantastic job of staying within herself, staying where her feet are, and just taking what the game gives you,” Clark said. “When she gets a good pitch, she’s crushing it. When she doesn’t get a good pitch, she’s taking the walk.”
“We’ve just been focusing on really seeing good pitches and not chasing,” Giordano said. “Just being confident and staying comfortable in the box has led me to seeing those good pitches and hitting those good pitches.”
Towson got a run back in the top of the fourth, but Hofstra brought its lead right back to three runs on a Collins single that scored Morse.
The Pride put the game away by scoring five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. It started with a bases-clearing double by Giordano, who in turn scored on a double by Angelina Ioppolo. Ioppolo scored on a wild pitch with two outs to end the game via the mercy rule.
The Tigers, however, took game two. It started early for the visitors as Towson took a 2-0 lead thanks to an RBI single by Madyson Peters. The Pride responded with a five-run bottom of the first. Giordano hit a sacrifice fly scoring Collins to make it a 2-1 game. Ioppolo scored on a Becca Vaillancourt single to left field, followed by Brianna Morse being brought home by her sister, Alanna. Gianna Iaquinto brought in the final run for the Pride with a sacrifice fly to center field.
Down 5-3 the Tigers needed a rally, and a rally they got in the top of the sixth. Beginning with a single by Addie Ferguson, Ally Hickman hit an RBI double to make it a one run game. Three straight walks loaded the bases, and eventually gave Towson two runs to give them the lead. Two straight fielding errors by Alanna Morse allowed the Tigers to tack on two more runs. Towson got one more run on a ground out to second.
The Tigers put the game away in the top of the seventh, as they scored three more runs on a sacrifice fly and two RBI singles.
“The message to this team is continue to play our game,” Clark said. “We need to spend more time focusing on us and less time focusing on our opponents. When we do that we play our best games.”
“We’ve got to come out and play our game,” Giordano said. “We have to compete.”
The Pride looks to win the rubber match of this important three-game series on Saturday, April 8. Game time is 1 p.m. from Bill Edwards Stadium.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
