Willa Ferrer and the Yale University Bulldogs crushed Hofstra’s hopes of winning on Saturday, Feb. 29, after a walk-off home run sealed the win at the Liberty Spring Classic. The freshman from Manhattan had only one hit coming into the game, but tallied four with two RBIs to propel Yale to a 7-6 win.

The teams went back and forth throughout the game, but neither squad could break free until the last frame. The action started for both teams in the second inning. Jaycee Ruberti started things off for Hofstra by ripping a double to center field, and then came home on an error at first base by Ferrer. Yale countered in the bottom half with RBI singles from Ferrer and Annie Tarte. The Pride’s freshman pitcher, Natalie Grubczak, was subsequently yanked after only an inning and a third.

With Nikki Mullin in the circle for Hofstra, the Bulldogs tacked on to their lead in the fourth inning thanks to a clutch RBI single off the bat of Sam Goodcase with the bases loaded and two outs. Hofstra struggled to escape the inning with minimal damage as they gave up two more runs on a throwing error from Angelina Ioppolo at first base.

Hofstra came back to tie the game in the fifth when Amanda Maffucci scored on an infield single by Kasey Collins. Jordan Pietrzykoski smashed a three-run home run to level the score at five. Yale regained the lead in the sixth when Tarte scored from second off a Sydney Grobman double.

Hofstra battled back once again behind Pietrzykoski with her fourth RBI in the seventh to tie up the game. However, Pietrzykoski’s first multi-hit and multi-RBI game was quickly overshadowed when Ferrer took Mullin deep on a 1-1 count in the bottom half of the inning with two away to send Yale home as the victors and Hofstra as losers for the fourth time in two days. Mullin ended the day for the Pride with five runs allowed in five and a third innings, but only three were earned. The freshman did achieve an early career-high of four strikeouts despite being tabbed with the loss.

The Pride’s record drops to 2-10 on the season with a five-game losing streak after their second loss of the day. They are back in action on Sunday, March 1, as they end the tournament against East Carolina University.

Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics