Game One By Mike Rudin – SPORTS EDITOR
Hofstra Pride softball dug out of a small hole in the 2016 home opener at Bill Edwards Stadium against St. John’s to pull away, 5-1, in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Hofstra starter Jessica Peslak threw a complete-game win in the Pride’s first game of the Hofstra Invitational. She allowed three hits, three walks but struckout three for the victory.
“Peslak threw great, very impressed with her outing against St. John’s,” Hofstra head coach Larissa Anderson said after the doubleheader. “Did an unbelievable job keeping them off-balanced [and] had great movement all day long.”
The game started out as a pitcher’s duel as both teams remained scoreless up until the bottom of the third.
St. John’s batter Yvonne Rericha broke the game open with a sacrifice fly, hitting it deep into foul territory in left field, which allowed Wilkens to swipe home plate.
After the Red Storm scored, Hofstra’s offense retaliated back in the top of the fourth.
Kim Smith smacked a leadoff base hit to get the ball rolling and Caryn Bailey followed up with an infield hit to grant Hofstra its first runner in scoring position.
After a full count, Brittany Allocca pulled off a walk to juice the bases, giving Michaela Transue an ample scoring opportunity.
With no outs, Transue bunted and ran it out, turning it into a RBI infield hit to tie the game at 1-1.
Then Clark came up but failed to convert with the bases loaded, grounding out to short which the fielder threw home to prevent a potential Pride run.
As Red Storm starting pitcher McKenzie Murray struggled in the fourth, it got worse as she threw a wild pitch which Madison Ambush – a pinch runner for Allocca – crossed home plate to make it 2-1 in Hofstra’s favor.
Then Brielle Pietrafesa and Nikki Michalowski cracked the rally wide open. Pietrafesa singled to right field for one RBI and Michalowski singled to center field, driving in two runs, to extend the Pride’s lead 5-1.
After the offensive burst, both pitchers began to settle down again and Hofstra coasted with a four-run lead.
Peslak’s momentarily struggled with her control in the second and third inning but the moment her team gave some run support, she found the strike zone more often.
Peslak cruised for three straight scoreless innings from the fourth to the sixth but trouble came in the seventh and final inning.
St. John’s filled the bases and had the potential tying run batting at the plate. Peslak got two outs off a fielder’s choice and a strikeout prior to the bases loaded scenario.
Rericha stepped in the batter’s box and smacked a fly ball to left field but it fell into the glove of Chloe Fitzgerald which killed the rally.
Peslak’s record improved to 6-4 and her earned run average dropped to 3.75 after the win.
Michalowski went 1-for-3 with two RBIs, Transue went 1-for-2 with one RBI as well as one run scored and Pietrafesa went 1-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored as well.
Game Two
By John Naplitano --STAFF WRITER
Hofstra was bested by the University of Connecticut (UCONN), 9-3, in its second of two games at the Hofstra Invitational.
Connecticut’s bats overpowered the Pride, as they scored nine runs off of 10 hits in Hofstra’s first home field loss on the season.
Hofstra right-hander Madison Grimm (3-4) recorded the loss for Hofstra.
Grimm was very shaky in her start for the Pride. In 3.1 innings pitched she allowed five runs off of three hits. The crux of her woes was the five walks she allowed. Hofstra head coach Larissa Anderson was very disappointed in Grimm’s outing.
“She’s got to do a better job, and the team has to respond better. We can’t just ride on a good pitching performance,” Anderson said.
Grimm was swapped out for fellow freshman Courtney Scarpato. Scarpato took over in relief with one out in the third. She let up four runs on seven hits and two walks through 3.2 innings pitched.
The Huskies laid on the offense in the top of the second, scoring three runs in the frame. After Alyson Ambler and Dominique Pinto reached base on balls, senior Heather Fyfe drove them in with a two-RBI single.
UCONN tallied another run in the top of the third before Hofstra answered back with three runs of their own.
Brielle Pietrafesa and Megan Patierno started off the inning with back-to-back singles, and Nikki Michalowski moved them over to third and second base with a slow ground ball handled by the UCONN catcher.
Chloe Fitzgerald reached on a fielder’s choice, which plated Pietrafesa. A sacrifice fly from Kim Smith scored Patierno, and a big double off the bat of Caryn Bailey brought Fitzgerald home.
Hofstra shortstop Michaela Transue led off the bottom of the fourth with a single and caused an opportune call to the bullpen for the Huskies. Chelsea Eckert (3-7) came in for Connecticut and blanked the Pride, logging four scoreless innings. Eckert notched the win for UCONN.
“We’ve got to attack them early in the strike zone. Grimm faced 17 batters, and she only had six first pitch strikes. You can’t continually pitch behind in the count,” Anderson said when asked about what she looks to change for their second meeting with UCONN.
The Pride's record stayed one game above .500 (9-8 overall) after Saturday's doubleheader.
The Hofstra Invitational continues tomorrow at Bill Edwards Stadium. The Pride meets St. John’s University at 11:00 a.m. and UCONN at 1:30 p.m.