The Hofstra Pride softball team swept the College of Charleston on Saturday, April 2, at Bill Edwards Stadium. The Pride won two nail-biters, defeating the Cougars by a score of 9-7 in game one and winning 4-3 in game two. The sweep moves Hofstra to an overall record of 11-18 and 4-1 in conference play.
“It was a great performance. Any time you can walk out with two wins in a conference series, it’s a good day,” said Hofstra head coach Adrienne Clark.
Both teams traded runs in the first inning, with Charleston converting on a wild pitch and the Pride taking advantage of a fly out to center field. Charleston broke the tie in the third inning, starting with a reach on a fielding error by the shortstop, leading 2-1. An RBI single by Peyton Wade made it 3-1, and Mia Dittoe ended the rally with a single to left field coupled with a throwing error to bring the score to 4-1. The Pride did not stay quiet in the bottom of the third, with fielding errors bringing in Kasey Collins and Meghan Giordano to cut the deficit to one. Hofstra tied the game back up with an RBI single by Sam Ward.
Hofstra took its first lead in the fourth inning. Amanda Maffucci got things going with a single to left field. With bases eventually loaded, Collins drilled a single to send home Maffucci and Devyn Losco to lead 6-4. A bunt by Giordano was the catalyst for another run to go in front 7-4. The Pride wrapped up the inning with Collins running home to extend its lead to four, 8-4.
In the sixth inning, Charleston fired back at the Pride with a three-run homer by Jenna Helberg to cut the deficit to 8-7. Hofstra answered with one score in the bottom of the inning thanks to Giordano stealing home to go ahead 9-7. The Cougars had a solid chance in the seventh inning to tie or take the lead, but they left little to be desired with two runners left on base after the final three outs to end the game.
Nikki Mullin got the win, her first of the season, pitching 6.1 innings with five strikeouts.
In game two, both teams were held scoreless through the first two innings. Charleston took an early lead in the third off a single by Malaka Beiser to lead 1-0. The Pride continued to struggle in the following two innings, only landing one batter on base across the two frames. Hofstra was able to bounce back in the fifth inning, scoring three runs to go ahead 3-1. Collins and Angelina Ioppolo recorded an RBI single apiece.
Charleston added one run in the sixth inning with a homer to right field by Dittoe to trail 3-2. The Pride was fortunate to only give up one run, with the Cougars leaving two runners on base in the inning. The Cougars tied the game up with another homer in the seventh, this time by Helberg.
It was either extra innings or a walk-off finish, and Hofstra chose the latter as Olivia Malinowski delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh to secure the dramatic victory. Julia Apsel got the start for the Pride, striking out six batters in a complete-game performance. Gianna Iaquinto led the way with three hits.
“We’ve been talking a lot about, ‘Everyone’s going to get an opportunity at some point throughout this year to get the job done,’ and we keep mixing things up, we keep giving people opportunities and [Malinowski] stepped in without hesitation, without any nerves, and just got a good pitch and put a good cut on it, so it was awesome,” Clark said.
Hofstra concludes their three-game series with the Cougars on Sunday, April 3. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
