By Kyle Kandetzki - SPORTS EDITOR Faced with a potential loss against ACC-worst Syracuse, Caryn Bailey brought Hofstra back from the brink, and then some.
Hofstra softball defeated the Syracuse Orange (17-26, 1-13 ACC) in eight innings on Tuesday at the newly renamed Bill Edwards Stadium. Hofstra trailed 4-1 going into the final inning, but Larissa Anderson’s team tied things up to go to extras, where Bailey hit a walk-off two-run home run to give the Pride the win.
“Syracuse had pitchers faster than we have seen, and we were behind a bit on bat speed early,” said head coach Anderson. “But that isn’t a bad thing, and we adjusted.”
The non-conference showdown started off as a true pitcher’s duel, with neither team scoring through the first four innings. Cuse’s Jocelyn Cater was in the circle against Taylor Pirone, with Cater seeming a bit more in control, racking up 11 strikeouts over seven innings.
Both teams found offense in the 5th, the Orange via a solo home run, while Hofstra tied things back out via a Bailey groundout with runners on 1st and 3rd, scoring Rachel Simodejka.
Pirone struggled in the sixth; letting in three runs in what could have been an easy inning. Second baseman Lacey Clark made a diving stop with one out, but threw the ball errantly to first, putting runners on second and third. This would be followed by two singles, the latter of which went down the right field line and brought in two runs down, putting the Orange up 4-1.
Morgan Lashley came into the game in relief and got the inning’s final out, as well as struck out the side in the top of the 7th.
The Hofstra offense finally came alive with their backs against the wall in the bottom of the last. Chloe Fitzgerald reached, and Bailey slammed one over the right field wall to bring the game within one.
Cater continued to struggle, leading the Orange to opt to bring in Sydney O’Hara in relief, but she instead walked Brittany Allocca with the bases loaded to tie the game. But the game continued into extras after Erin Trippi struck out with two out and the bases still loaded.
Lashley continued her dominant appearance by striking out two more in a quick eighth inning, with Bailey looming, due up in the bottom half.
Fitzgerald (2-for-3) reached again, and Bailey (2-for-4) finished off the comeback with a shot just over the left field fence, a game winner, and her second home run in the same amount of innings.
Bailey’s two dingers brings her up to eleven in 2015, tied for the best in the CAA, and 40 RBIs, second in the conference. She also had every RBI that was physically hit in, as the only run not driven in by her was Allocca’s bases loaded walk.
Hofstra (26-11-1) continues their ten-game home stand Wednesday in their penultimate non-conference matchup against Fordham. The game is set for 3:00 p.m.