Junior Courtney Scarpato’s three-run homerun in the fifth inning propelled the 24th-ranked Hofstra softball team to a 5-2 victory over the Stony Brook University Seawolves in the “Battle of Long Island” on Thursday evening at Stony Brook.
Sophomore Sarah Cornell was sent to the circle to start the game. She went 4.2 innings, only allowing three hits and two earned runs while striking out seven. Freshman Sophie Dandola stepped into the circle in the fifth inning to close out the final 2.1 innings. She allowed two hits and no runs. Dandola earned the win, improving her record to 14-3 this season.
Hofstra (35-8) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on senior Megan Patierno’s single through the left side. They held on to that lead until the fifth inning where Stony Brook (19-17) plated two runs of their own to take the 2-1 lead.
With two outs in the top of the sixth inning, Scarpato put one over the fence, scoring pinch-runner Imani Myint and senior Brielle Pietrafesa. This gave Hofstra the 4-2 lead.
Hofstra kept the Seawolves off the board in the bottom of the sixth. With one out in the top of the seventh inning, freshman Kimberly Wert added to Hofstra’s lead with a pinch-hit, solo homerun to give the Pride a 5-2 lead. That was Wert’s sixth collegiate hit, five of which have been homeruns.
“She’s [Wert] a force,” said Hofstra head coach Larissa Anderson. “She’s someone you’re going to want to watch for over four years.”
Dandola finished off the night with a scoreless bottom of the seventh inning. The Pride extended their winning streak to 17 games, which is the second longest winning streak in Division I.
“It was great to see us come back,” Anderson said. “We have so much power potential in our lineup that we’re never out of a game. Being able to see them respond to a little bit of adversity is great to see.”
The Pride next travel to James Madison University to take on the Dukes in a key Colonial Athletic Association series. The series begins with a doubleheader on Saturday. The first game is scheduled for 2 p.m.
