On the morning of Friday, Feb. 22, the Hofstra University softball team dropped the first game of the 2019 Mardi Gras Classic in Alabama as they were defeated by Nicholls State by a score of 11-1.
The Pride is now 0-5 on the season.
It was a tough game for the Pride at Jaguar Field, as they struggled to contain the Colonels and made a number of costly errors. Of the 11 runs scored by Nicholls State, eight were unearned as the Colonels took advantage of the Pride’s mistakes.
The majority of the scoring in the contest took place in the third inning, where the Colonels brought in eight unanswered runs. The Pride responded, however, with their first score of the match batted in by Kristin Hallam and scored by Devyn Losco. Before scoring, Losco had batted a single, yet reached third thanks to a stolen base and a throwing error. The run would end up being Hofstra’s only for the contest, and Nicholls State would go on to earn three more: one in the following inning, and two in the fifth.
A bright spot for the Pride was the performance of freshman pitcher Madison Burns. Burns played exceptionally well as she allowed only three earned runs and struck out Nicholls State’s Emma Holland at the second at-bat of the game. She started the game retiring her first six batters, and successfully pitched a no-hitter through the Colonels’ first 10 at-bats.
Four players for the Pride finished the game with a hit, as Kristin Hallam, Lydia Witkowski, Devyn Losco, and Imani Myint earned one each. Hallam had Hofstra’s only RBI and their only walk. Devyn Losco was the sole scorer for the team.
For Nicholls State, eight different players scored runs in the match: Corynn Major, Kali Clement, and Kennedy Hebert finished with two each, while Emma Holland, Caitlyn Garcia, Samantha Dares, Maegen Ellis, and Kelsey Miller all scored, as well.
This game was originally intended to be the first of a double-header for the Pride, as they were set to take on Illinois following the match, but the game was cancelled due to rain.
Hofstra will face off against the Colonels once again to try to avenge their loss the next day on Saturday, Feb. 24.
