The Hofstra Pride softball team lived and died with their offense on Saturday, May 1, against the Drexel University Dragons. Despite a slew of defensive miscues, the Pride managed to split the doubleheader with the Dragons at the Bill Edwards Stadium.
The Dragons got off to a fast start in game one. With the bases loaded in the top of the first, Dragons center fielder Reilly Jo Swanson ripped a liner to left field that got away from Madison McKevitt, clearing the bases. Down 3-0 early after the defensive miscue, the Pride rallied immediately in the bottom of the inning. Angelina Ioppolo doubled with runners on the corner to score Chelsea Manto for the first run of the game. Devyn Losco tied the game with a single to score Ioppolo and Jaycee Ruberti, giving the Pride a chance to put their early defensive struggles behind them.
The Dragons struck back in the top of the third to make it a 4-3 game, but the Pride answered immediately once again. In the bottom of the third, Ioppolo worked a walk to get on base ahead of a Losco home run to left, giving Hofstra a 5-4 lead. The Dragons regained the lead in the fifth and extended it to 8-5 heading into the bottom of the sixth. But, once again, the Pride rallied to retake the lead. Kristin Hallam notched a two-RBI double to cut the lead to just one run. Ruberti followed with an RBI double of her own to tie the game before Meghan Giordano launched a two-run shot to center to give Hofstra a 10-8 lead. The Dragons added one run in the seventh, but Nikki Mullin managed to shut the door for a dramatic win.
Unfortunately, the offensive outburst didn’t carry over into game two for the Pride. The Dragons put a run on the board in the first inning and once again, the Hofstra bats rallied to retake the lead in the second. Alexis Goeke ripped an RBI single in the second inning, scoring Losco to tie the game. In the third, a Giordano sac fly scored Chelsea Manto to give the Pride a 2-1 lead. However, that would be the last run Hofstra scored in game two. The Dragons responded with a three-run inning in the fifth and two insurance runs in the sixth en route to a 6-2 win.
“Well I’ll tell you, we [have] got four of the greatest seniors that any coach could ever ask for,” said Hofstra head coach Jay Miller. “Obviously Kristin Hallam is all-everything. And our other seniors, it’s tough at this level to come to practice every day and put in the time and effort and the work that they do and not get to play a lot. [Jessica] Joy, [Alexa] Corben, just great kids, great teammates and do anything that you ask as a coach. Alexis Goeke [is] the same way. This senior class, not only great ballplayers but even better people and better teammates. What you remember down the road is not the batting average and wins and losses and things, but you remember how people make you feel, and what kind of teammate you were. And these four seniors are the best teammates that anybody could ask for.”
The Pride return to action for the final game of the weekend series with Drexel on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in Hempstead.
Photo Courtesy of Jacob Lewis/The Hofstra Chronicle
