By Joe Barone - STAFF WRITER As the Pride prepare for what they hope to be a long and successful playoff run, head coach Larissa Anderson wanted her team to focus on the remaining games on the schedule. In the final weekend doubleheader of the regular season, the Pride took both games from the College of Charleston, 12-2 and 8-0.
Game one of the afternoon doubleheader saw a pitcher’s duel for the opening three innings. Both Hofstra’s ace, Morgan Lashley, and Charleston’s, Valerie Cassell, matched each other’s brilliance until the Cougars struck first. After Lashley surrendered a one out double to Jordin Jones, Carly Hansis came up to bat and hit the next pitch over the left field wall, putting the College of Charleston up 2-0 after four innings.
The Hansis two-run home run would light a spark under the Pride, as they rallied, scoring five times in the top of the fifth, sending 11 batters to the plate during the rally. Headlining that offensive outburst was a bases-clearing double from Kim Smith, one of her 3 hits on the afternoon. Adding to the problem was Charleston’s starter, Cassell. She struggled for the entire inning, failing to discover the strike zone - walking five along the way. The Pride capitalized on the Cougars’ mishaps leading to a 5-2 advantage after five.
After a simple one-two-three inning on the mound by the dominant Lashley, the Pride bats came alive again in the top half of the sixth. After a leadoff walk, Hofstra added four consecutive hits by Chloe Fitzgerald, Caryn Bailey, Kim Smith, and Lacey Clark, setting off an explosion with seven runs on six total hits. The Pride batted around in the inning, signaling the mercy rule once again on the season.
Game two was nothing different. With their eyes set on their eighth consecutive victory, the Pride’s bats picked up where they left off in game one. Leading off the game was Chloe Fitzgerald, and like she has done all season, Fitzgerald proved to be the “table-setter.” After the leadoff double, Kim Smith came up with one out and brought in Fitzgerald on another double - this time over the centerfielder’s head.
It was 1-0 Hofstra after one full inning and the score remained the same until the top of the fifth when the Pride’s bats came alive once more. With one out, Michaela Transue smacked her fifth homerun of the season, putting the Pride up 2-0. Hofstra would not be done, as after the homerun, Fitzgerald hit a single up the middle and then scored on a Caryn Bailey triple. The offense continued to produce for Hofstra as Lacey Clark, batting .328 on the season, reached base on a single, eventually scoring on a Brielle Pietrafesa triple increasing the lead to 5-0.
The Pride got a fantastic pitching performance by Taylor Pirone, who went the distance, throwing seven innings, scattering seven hits, while striking out eight Cougars. Pirone picked up her fourteenth win on the campaign. Like game one, Hofstra put the mercy rule into effect, scoring three more times in the seventh inning - headlined by a Lacey Clark two-run triple. After seven innings, the Pride led 8-0, and that was all they needed.
Not only would Hofstra win their eighth in a row, but they also picked up win number 34 on the season and their seventeenth victory against conference opponents. The Pride asserted their dominance in the league with two mercy rules as they prepare for the CAA Tournament.