By Joe Barone -- STAFF WRITER
Game One: Nail-biter win in extras
Adversity was never an issue for the Hofstra Pride softball team as they took the opening game against Drexel 4-3.
It was not an issue back when the team struggled to find consistency earlier in the year, and it was certainly not an issue in game one of the weekend doubleheader when the Pride found themselves hitless in the opening three innings.
Both pitchers Morgan Lashley and Taylor Lee matched each other’s stellar start pitch-to-pitch. However, things started to unravel for Drexel starter Lee when the Pride’s bats came alive in the top of the fourth.
After the first three batters were safe on consecutive singles, Brittany Allocca came up to bat, smacking a sacrifice fly to right field to put Hofstra up 1-0.
The Pride benefitted from more than just the out as Drexel’s right fielder, Sharon Zamora, threw the ball away, allowing the Pride to advance to second and third, respectively.
Megan Patierno, who earned RBI 12 of the game, hit a fly out to center field, bringing home Lacey Clark for the Pride’s second and final run of the inning.
The Dragons did not go down without a fight as Drexel answered Hofstra’s wake-up call, putting up three runs on four hits in the bottom of the fourth due to a Sylvia Llamas’s three-run home run, putting Drexel ahead 3-2.
However, as the season has been going for the Pride, adversity would not be an issue. Hofstra tied the game in the top of the fifth thanks to an RBI single by Caryn Bailey, one of her three hits of the afternoon.
The score remained tied as Hofstra and Drexel battled it out into extra innings. Bailey then hit a single again, scoring Brielle Pietrafesa for the game’s final run, giving Hofstra the well-deserved victory.
Game Two: Pride mercies in six with grand slam
After playing 11 innings in game one, fatigue could have been a factor for the Hofstra Pride.
Instead, in game two of the doubleheader, the bats came alive as the Pride beat the Dragons for the second time, 11-1 in six innings.
Hofstra flexed their muscle and showed why they are ranked as one of the top teams in the CAA standings, proving to the Drexel Dragons they are not a joke.
The Pride picked up where they left off in game one, as they got off to a scorching start, plating three runs before Taylor Pirone could throw one pitch.
Pirone (10-8) went the distance in the mercy-rule victory, allowing five hits and one earned run.
The Pride was led offensively by its top of the lineup. Chloe Fitzgerald picked up three hits in four at-bats, Caryn Bailey once again added three more hits and two RBIs.
Kim Smith hit two doubles and scored two runs, and Lacey Clark drove in four runs on a grand slam that put the Dragons to bed.
The blowout victory was the eighth time the Pride beat an opponent by six or more runs. Hofstra pulled off four straight wins since their doubleheader vs. JMU.
Game Three: Anderson’s team completes sweep
After two thrilling victories over an inferior opponent, the Pride had their eyes set on a series sweep as they sent their ace Morgan Lashley back to the mound and came away with a 10-1 win against the Drexel Dragons.
Lashley had another sharp outing, pitching four innings, scattering five hits and allowing just one earned run while striking out two.
The bats came alive for the second straight time as the Pride scored 10 runs, prompting another swift ending to a game. After four innings the score was tied at one, but that was before Kim Smith stepped in the batter’s box.
Smith hit a home run, giving Hofstra a lead they never relinquished. After Smith started the rally, Brittany Allocca drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to put the Pride up 3-1.
Hofstra didn’t finish in the fifth inning as two more runs crossed the plate on a Megan Patierno two-run home run. After leaving Drexel hanging around within striking distance, the Pride flexed that muscle again, putting up a five spot in the top of the seventh inning. The five runs came across as eight straight batters reached base safely in a nightmarish inning for the Dragons. Once again, it was the consistency from Chloe Fitzgerald, Caryn Bailey, Smith, Lacey Clark and Brielle Pietrafesa that really carried this team en route to their 10-1 blowout victory, their fifth in a row.
This is the second winning streak of the season that has seen the Pride win at least five consecutive games.
Hofstra returns home on April 15 when they host an LIU Brooklyn squad that has won seven out of their last 10 games. First pitch will be thrown at 4 p.m