By Elliot Rubin - STAFF WRITER The Hofstra Pride softball team bounced back from a 6-5 loss to Towson to beat the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds 9-4 on Thursday.
Ariana Lopez opened up the scoring in the third inning with a grand slam, her first of the season, giving the Blackbirds an early 4-0 lead. However, this lead would be short lived as the Pride scored four runs the next inning.
Brielle Pietrafesa put Hofstra on the board in the fourth inning with a RBI single. Three batters later, Nikki Michalowski tripled in three more, evening up the score at four.
In the fifth inning, Brittany Allocca reached on a fielder’s choice and Caryn Bailey scored on an error. Later in the frame, Pietrafesa added to the Pride’s lead with a RBI single, pushing Hofstra’s lead to 6-4.
The next inning, Bailey contributed a ground rule double for the Pride, pushing the lead up to 7-4 after six.
Madison Ambush delivered the final two runs of the day for Hofstra when she hit a two run homer, her first of the season, which came in the seventh inning. With the home run, the Pride had the final score of the game.
Hofstra starter Jessica Peslak pitched a complete game, allowing six hits, four runs (all earned), two walks and striking out one. With the win, she improved to 10-6 on the season.
For LIU Brooklyn, Erynn Sobieski went the first four and third innings and got the loss, droppingto 6-14. She allowed eight hits, six runs (five earned), one walk and one hits batsmen.
Shelley Procter was the first Blackbird out of the bullpen, and she allowed three hits and one run in an inning. Tallie Woodson pitched the final inning and two thirds for LIU Brooklyn, allowing two hits, two runs (both earned) and a walk.
Pietrafesa lead the way offensively for the Pride, going 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs. Ambush had a solid game as well, going 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs.
Chloe Fitzgerald, Bailey and Smith joined Pietrafesa and Ambush as the five Pride players to enjoy a multi-hit game. Hofstra finished with 13 hits, two walks and no strikeouts.
Lopez accounted for all of the Blackbirds runs with her early grand slam. However, no Blackbird had a multi-hit game and the team only finished with six hits, in addition to two walks and one strikeout.
With the win, Hofstra improved to 15-13 on the season and LIU Brooklyn dropped to 11-21 with the loss.
The Pride returns to action Saturday, April 2 against UNCW in a three-game set at Bill Edwards Stadium.