Hofstra softball shut out at Delaware

The Hofstra University softball team dropped game two of their three-game series against the University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens, 1-0 on Saturday, April 20. Hofstra fell to 15-22 overall and 12-8 in the Coastal Athletic Association, while Delaware improved to 32-9 overall and 17-3 in the CAA. With this win, the Fightin’ Blue Hens also clinched a playoff spot in the CAA Tournament.

The Pride was no-hit in the contest, as Morgan Hess shut Hofstra down for seven innings. Hess walked two Pride batters and struck out three in the no-hitter.

Delaware got on the board early in the first inning. Senior center fielder Julz Garber roped a single off the glove of Mackenzie Fitzgerald at third. With two outs in the inning, Garber swiped second to put herself in scoring position for Julia Boyet. The senior third baseman singled to right field, scoring Garber from second to give the Fightin’ Blue Hens a 1-0 lead.

Hofstra’s ace Julia Apsel suffered the loss even though she allowed only one run on four hits and one walk in six innings. Apsel fanned five Fightin’ Blue Hens in the loss, moving her record to 13-9.

The Pride threatened to score in the top of the second as Kayla Wilson worked a one-out walk. With two outs in the inning and and an an error, Alanna Morse reached on a fielding error by Hess on the mound. Both Wilson and Morse advanced to the next open base as Hess spiked a wild pitch in the dirt. Fitzgerald stranded both runners as she grounded out to second, ending the inning.

This game had the same story as the day before but with a different outcome; It was a pitcher’s duel with timely hitting in one inning. Hofstra’s Achilles’ heel as of late has been the lack of situational hitting. The Pride hit .166 with runners on base in their three-game series against Stony Brook University. On Tuesday, April 16, Hofstra hit .250 with runners on base against St. John’s University. The Pride failed to record a hit over the course of game two against Delaware.

In this series, Becca Vaillancourt and Olivia Malinowski, who are the team’s one and two hitters in the lineup, are a combined two-for-14. After Aliya Catanzarita went three-for-three against the University of North Carolina A&T on Friday, April 5, she’s made one hit in her last 24.

The season-long inconsistencies from hitters four through nine have put pressure on the top three, Vaillancourt, Malinowski and Catanzarita, to produce night in and night out. On top of the inconsistencies in the lineup, after Apsel who has an ERA of 4.51, the pitcher with the lowest ERA  has a 4.51. As a result, Apsel has started the last 11 CAA games for the Pride.

With this loss and Elon University’s win over Hampton University on Saturday, April 20, Hofstra fell to No. 6 in the CAA. Only six teams make the CAA Tournament and two spots are already filled by the University of Delaware and Campbell University.

Hofstra is back in action for the rubber match against the Fightin’ Blue Hens on Sunday, April 21. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m.

 Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Rob Cuni