By PJ Potter - ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR The Hofstra softball team improved to 20-5 after routing Iona 13-5 in five innings Wednesday at Donald Walsh Field.
An eight run third inning sealed the game for Hofstra, started by a Brittany Allocca RBI double to push the score to 3-1. Allocca finished the game 2-for-2 with two runs batted in and one walk.
Two batters later, right fielder Brielle Pietrafesa knocked a two-run home run, her sixth round-tripper of the season.
The Pride ended the inning with a 10-1 lead after RBI singles by Chloe Fitzgerald and Caryn Bailey. Michaela Transue roped a double, which scored Fitzgerald and Bailey.
Transue capped it off with a bases loaded walk, scoring Transue.
Jessica Peslak picked up the win, jumping to 15-6 this year, tossing all five innings with six strikeouts. The junior allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits and one walk.
For Iona, Alana Evans slipped to 0-2 after two innings of work. Evans walked three and scattered two hits, which added to two runs allowed.
Iona relievers were hit hard. Jordan Courage surrendered seven runs while recording just two outs along the way.
Jessica Harkness and Carly Argyle combined for four runs in the final 2.2 innings.
For Hofstra’s offense, the leadoff hitter, Fitzgerald, poked three hits in four at-bats with two runs scored and one RBI, extending her hitting streak to six games.
Michaela Transue inflated her batting average to .367 after going 3-for-4 with four RBIs, her second highest mark of the season.
First baseman Nikki Michalowski plated two Pride runners out of the nine spot in the lineup, ending her 1-for-11 skid in the previous four games.
The Pride returns to conference this weekend on the road at the University of Delaware in a three-game series beginning Saturday, April 16 at 12 p.m.