By Jeffrey Werner -- STAFF WRITER It never is easy to go on the road and claim two victories, but the Hofstra Pride softball team was up for the challenge. The Pride took the doubleheader against the Mountain Hawks of Lehigh University on April 8th in Bethlehem, 5-4 and 4-0.Hofstra has now won five straight road games dating back to the UNC-W series sweep.
Morgan Lashley was on the mound for the start of the first game. In third inning, Watanabe hit the ball into left field to drive in Emma Capetz for the first run of the game and give Lehigh an early 1-0 lead.
The lead wouldn’t last in the top of the fourth. Junior outfielder Caryn Bailey came up to bat and drove the ball over the left field fence to tie the game at one. This wasn’t be the last time Bailey showed her power in this game.
Meanwhile in the bottom of the fourth and fifth inning, the Mountain Hawks offense took over as Waggy beat out the throw to first on a fielder’s choice while driving in Calvini to give Lehigh the lead back 2-1.
Leigh University extended the lead to 3-1 when Lattanzio put the ball into the gap in right field and allowed Yozzo to score.
Bailey played role as the most valuable player of the game with the swing of her bat. When the Pride down 3-1 in the top of the seventh, Bailey came to the plate with bases loaded.
The same power she displayed in the fourth resurged once Bailey smacked the ball over left center wall for her second home run of the game, her seventh of the season, and gave the Pride a 5-3 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, Calvini reached first on an error all the while Watanabe scored to cut the lead to 5-4. Fearing Lashley could be tiring, head coach Larissa Anderson took her out, finishing her day with 6.2 innings pitched, eight hits and seven strikeouts, and brought in Taylor Pirone to get the last out and save the game.
The Pride was able to win the second game of the doubleheader in more convincing fashion, 4-0. The Pride got to an early lead, thanks to catcher Erin Trippi reaching base on a throwing error which allowed Kim Smith to score and give the Pride an early 1-0.
Megan Patierno contributed to Hofstra’s lead with a double in the third that drove in Lacey Clark and extended the lead to 2-0. Smith grounded out to second, but that didn’t stop Bailey from scoring and pushing the lead to 3-0.
Brielle Pietrafesa drove in the final run of the game when she singled up the middle and Patierno came home to give the Pride their 4-0 lead they would win the game with.
Also worth noting is the pitching excellence of Pirone, who pitched a complete-game shutout with six hits and eight strikeouts.