Hofstra softball wins series opener against UNCW

The Hofstra University softball team beat the UNC-Wilmington (UNCW) Seahawks 4-1 under the North Carolina lights on Friday, March 29. The Pride improved to 8-17 overall record and 6-4 in the Coastal Athletic Association while UNCW worsened to 17-13 overall and 8-2 in the CAA.

Aliya Catanzarita doubled her career home run total as she launched two over the wall in the contest. The first one came in the first inning, and it was a two-run shot to left center, scoring Olivia Malinowski to give Hofstra an early 2-0 lead.

In the third inning, Catanzarita entered the batter’s box for the same result as her first at-bat. She launched a two-run homer to left field, scoring Becca Vaillancourt to extend the team’s lead to 4-0.

The Pride’s ace Julia Apsel made her seventh start of the season. Apsel allowed one run on five hits and one walk while fanning three Seahawks over seven innings of work.

Skylar Stockton put UNCW on the board in the bottom of the third with a single to right center, scoring Cassidy Relay from second. Other than the RBI single from Stockton, it was a quiet evening for the Seahawks offense.

Three Hofstra hitters had multi-hit games. Vaillancourt continued her dominance as she went three-for-four at the plate with one run scored. Malinowksi stayed hot as she went two-for-four and also came around to score one. Cantanzarita was a perfect three-for-three including a walk, as she scored twice and knocked in four runs.

The Pride recorded 10 hits in the contest and Vaillancourt, Malinowksi and Catanzarita combined for eight of them. The other two hits came from Alanna Morse, who went one-for-two with a walk, and Kayla Wilson, who went one-for-three with a walk as well.

Vaillancourt has been the team’s best hitter, as she has sent five balls over the wall, recorded 13 RBI and has a slashing line of .347/.390/.600.

As far as pitching goes, it’s been all Apsel for the Pride. Apsel lowered her ERA to 1.52 after recording her ninth complete game of the season. When opposing teams face Apsel, they’re only batting .250 against her. No other pitcher in the rotation has an ERA below 4.80 or a WHIP under 1.90.

Hofstra is in fourth place in the CAA, trailing UNCW by two games for the second spot in the conference despite having a sub .500 overall record.

Following game two on Saturday, Hofstra wraps up this series on Sunday, March 31, with first pitch set for noon.

Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Matteo Bracco