The Hofstra University softball team was decimated by No. 25 University of Virginia in a 17-0 run-rule loss on Saturday, March 1, at the Party at Palmer Invitational in Charlottesville, Virginia. The five-inning contest drops the Pride to 1-11 on the season following a difficult opening schedule.
Virginia’s Eden Bigham pitched all five innings and dominated, striking nine of the 15 batters she faced. The All-Atlantic Coast Conference First-Team pitcher moved to 4-3 on the season.
In the first inning, the Cavaliers wasted no time getting on the board, jumping out to a 2-0 lead from an RBI single by utility player Sarah Coon and a bases loaded walk drawn by catcher Sydney Hartgrove.
The onslaught did not end after that, as outfielder Kailyn Jones started the second inning with a triple, which was followed by infielder Jade Hylton ripping a triple of her own. In the following at-bat, outfielder Kelly Ayer hit a sac-fly to center-field, which brought Hylton home.
Hofstra’s starting pitcher was junior Emma Falen, who gave up five runs in two innings with four strikeouts and was replaced by junior Emma Brennan in the third inning after allowing a home run from utility/infielder Macee Eaton to make it a 5-0 ballgame. Falen’s ERA moved to a 5.97 on the season with a WHIP of 1.94.
Brennan’s season struggles continued as she did not finish the third inning, giving up eight runs total – albeit only two earned runs – and one out. The right-handed pitcher’s ERA has moved to 24.94 and her WHIP jumped to 4.88.
Hofstra head coach Adrienne Clark then brought out another right-handed pitcher. Senior Haley Venturini was tasked with finishing out what was a long third inning, which was exactly what she ended up doing. However, Venturini also found herself in trouble when she loaded the bases in the fourth inning. She was relieved by freshman Carley Ernst after loading the bases, finishing with one strikeout, five walks, one wild-pitch and no hits.
More runs came from those loaded bases, as catcher Melissa Carr brought both outfielder Kelsey Hackett and infielder/outfielder Brie Biddle in to make it a 15-0 score line. The Cavaliers were not finished there though, as the next at-bat was yet another double, this time from infielder Alex Call. That double scored two runs, as Melissa Carr and utility player Madison Greene both reached home to create a 17-run deficit. The Pride were unable to make the score any closer, falling 17-0 in five innings to Virginia.
