Hofstra Returns to Championship Saturday with 3-0 Triumph over Campbell
Dylan Smith
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | BRACKET
BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
ELON, N.C. – Top-seeded Hofstra escaped with its second win of the day at Hunt Softball Park on Friday, edging third-seeded Campbell, 3-0, to make its first CAA Softball Championship game since 2023.
The Pride (31-22) will face fifth-seeded Charleston in the title game on Saturday, May 9, with first pitch slated for noon on FloCollege. The matchup will feature a pair of first-year Division I Head Coaches with the Cougars’ Maggie Mrowka and Hofstra’s Susan Cassidy-Lyke. The tandem will battle to become just the third head coach in league history to win the CAA title in their first season at the helm of the program.
Cancel provided the biggest blow of the game, going 2-for-2 at the dish with a home run and two RBIs in total. Chelsea Villar provided the other RBI in the contest. The pitching tandem of Madison Steppe and Emma Falen combined to shut out the Camels, combining for four hits allowed and nine strikeouts. Steppe secured her 13
th win of the year, while Falen logged just her second save in two seasons with Hofstra.
The Pride's Steppe and Campbell’s Kasey Wolfe both struck out two batters in the opening frame. The Camels threatened in the second inning by putting runners on second and third with no outs, only for Steppe to punch out two more hitters and get out of the frame unscathed.
Campbell put runners on second and third in the top of the third, this time with one out in the frame. Steppe delivered and worked herself out of the jam again, striking out Allyiah Swiney and forcing CAA Player of the Year Charlie Montgomery to fly out to center.
Cancel broke the scoreless tie in the home half of the third, turning on the first pitch she saw and taking it over the center-field scoreboard for a 1-0 edge.
The Camels put two baserunners on for the third consecutive inning, breaking up Steppe’s no-hitter with two outs in the fourth. The Pride continued to leave Camels stranded on base as they worked out of trouble yet again.
Emma Falen came on in relief in the fifth and, in a similar fashion, battled in and out of Campbell’s offensive threat. The California product took care of business and stranded runners on first and second, registering her second strikeout of the frame and getting the force out at first on a dribbler back to the circle.
The Pride took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth. After Dahlia Palacio smacked a ground-rule double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, Villar brought the junior across the plate on a flyout behind first base.
Falen induced a groundout to second base in the top of the seventh to close the game and pick up the save. The California native finished with four strikeouts in three innings of work.
Campbell saw its season come to an end with a 34-23 record.
Wednesday, May 6
Game 1:
No. 5 Charleston 5, No. 4 Stony Brook 1
Game 2:
No. 3 Campbell 4, No. 6 Elon 3
Game 3:
No. 4 Stony Brook 5, No. 6 Elon 3
Thursday, May 7
Game 4:
No. 5 Charleston 4, No. 1 Hofstra 2
Game 5:
No. 3 Campbell 9, No. 2 UNCW 4
Game 6:
No. 2 UNCW 7, No. 4 Stony Brook 3
Friday, May 8
Game 7:
No. 5 Charleston 6, No. 3 Campbell 0
Game 8:
No. 1 Hofstra 6, No. 2 UNCW 1
Game 9: No. 1 Hofstra vs. No. 3 Campbell – 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 9
Game 10: No. 5 Charleston vs. Winner of Game 9 - 12 p.m.
Game 11: If Necessary - 2:30 p.m.
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