The Hofstra Pride softball team fell 8-6 to the Army Black Knights on Wednesday, March 29 at home in Bill Edwards Stadium, dropping their overall record to 11-17. Hofstra’s Julia Apsel was charged with the loss, while Army’s Olivia Farris was credit with her third win of the season and Alicyn Grete picked up her first save of the season.
“Today was a tough game,” said Hofstra head softball coach Adrienne Clark. “Thought we weren’t as sharp and clean on defense as we have been
Hofstra was first on the board with Kayla Wilson’s RBI single to score freshman catcher Becca Vaillancourt in the bottom of the second.
Army was quick to respond in the top of the third when Brook Mitchell reached first base on a fielder’s choice and scored Maaika Dones in the process, promptly tying the game at one. Army took the lead with when Kayla Edwards singled to center field to give Mitchell room to score.
Hofstra retaliated in the bottom of the third when Brianna Morse’s single punched through right center field, scoring Kasey Collins. Following an Army pitching change, Vaillancourt grounded out to first base unassisted, but not before Megan Giordano made the sprint home safe to retake the lead 3-2.
Army tied the game again in the next inning when a series of runs and errors discombobulated the Pride. Maddie Wilkes was issued a walk, and later advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Grace Snyder. Dones reached first base on an error from the Hofstra shortstop, allowing Wilkes to get to third. This was the perfect opportunity when Lauren Little struck out swinging because she caught a sliver of the ball, meaning Wilkes caught the window of opportunity needed to score. The result? Tie game at three.
The stalemate continued until the top of the sixth where the Pride simply could not record an out. Hofstra reliever Julia Apsel walked Dones and then allowed Little to reach first on a fielder’s choice while Dones advanced to third. On a passed ball, Little hustled to second safely and Dones made it to home plate to regain the lead for the visiting Black Knights. After Mitchell was walked, Angelina Bebek’s single to center brought in Little for a comfortable 5-3 lead. Lastly, designated player Taylor Brown went shopping at the gap, sending the ball right between the outfielders to land an RBI triple to give ample room for Mitchell and Bebek to score. Army’s cushion was 7-3, at which point Nikki Mullen was brought in to get the final two out for the Pride.
That fourth inning proved to be big for the Pride, as Meghan Giordano sent the ball out of the park with a three-run homer to tighten the scoring gap 7-6. That was the last the offense could muster against Army though.
Dones opted to go for a bunt and reached first in the process, allowing pinch runner Ellie Caldwell who was comfortable stationed at third position to score, marking the Black Knights’ final scored run.
With this game behind the team already, they will play the Howard Bison at 2 p.m. on March 30 in Washington D.C.
“There’s a lot of takeaways from today,” Clark said. “I would like to see us continue to go out and be more aggressive in everything: defense offense, pitching, catching and at the plate. I think that we have the ability to take some more risks and to put ourselves in a better position to have even more success consistently.”
Photo courtesy of Rob Cuni/Hofstra Athletics
