Bailey Sends Pride To CAA Title Game

5/7/2015 2:36:00 PM

Tim McDonnell

#CAAChamps Central | Boxscore | Highlights

HARRISONBURG, Va. (May 6, 2015) – Hofstra junior Caryn Bailey hit two home runs for the second straight game, with her final three-run shot proving to be the difference, as second-seeded Hofstra ended the nation’s longest winning streak at 36 games with a 5-3 win over top-seeded James Madison in the Day 2 opener of the 2015 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Softball Championship.

With the Pride trailing by a score of 3-2 in the top of the seventh, and with two outs, Bailey stepped to the plate and smacked the first pitch she saw over the center field wall to help the Pride come away with the incredible win. In that same inning, freshman Brielle Pietrafesa reached on an error and junior Chloe Fitzgerald beat out a grounder to keep the game alive.

Senior Taylor Pirone (17-11) replaced starter Morgan Lashley and earned the win in the circle, tossing three frames and giving up one run on three hits for the Pride.

Amazingly, Hofstra is the first team this season to beat CAA Pitcher and Rookie of the Year Megan Good, who took the loss, which was the first of her career at JMU. She now has a 27-1 mark this season. The right-hander took over for JMU starter Jailyn Ford, lasting 2.2 innings and giving up three runs on four hits.

Hofstra now awaits its opponent for Friday’s CAA title game at 12:00 p.m., with a shot at the program’s third championship in the last four years. The No. 17/18 Dukes fell to 45-7 on the year and entered the game with the best winning streak in the nation at 36. JMU will face the winner of the game between third-seeded Elon and fourth-seeded Towson later this evening at 5:00 p.m.

Offensively, JMU was led by sophomore Taylor Newton’s solo homer, sophomore Niki Prince’s RBI single and Ford’s RBI double in the sixth inning which gave the hosts a 3-2 lead.

Bailey now has 16 homers to lead the CAA this season and through two games at this year’s championship has six hits, four home runs and eight RBI. Bailey also set CAA tournament records for total bases (18) and homers (4). Freshman Megan Patierno hit a solo homer in the win for the Pride (36-11-1), which has reached the NCAA Tournament each of the last three seasons.

All games of the 2015 CAA Softball Championship will be broadcast for free and live on CAA.tv. The title game on Friday can be watched via the American Sports Network (ASN) at 5:00 p.m. Visit the CAA Softball Championship Central page for live stats, box scores, game recaps, video highlights and much more. Be sure to follow the CAA on Twitter (@CAASports) and on Instagram using the hashtag, #CAAChamps, for up-to-date and behind the scenes coverage.

2015 CAA SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
(Veterans Memorial Park | Harrisonburg, Va.)

Wednesday, May 6
Game 1: #1 @JMU_Softball 3, #4 @Towson_SB 2
Game 2: #2 @HofstraSoftball 10, #3 @ElonUSoftball 0 (5)

Thursday, May 7
Game 3: #2 @HofstraSoftball 5, #1 @JMU_Softball 3
Game 4: #4 @Towson_SB vs. @ElonUSoftball – 2:30 p.m.
Game 5: #1 @JMU_Softball vs. Winner G4 – 5 p.m.

Friday, May 8
Game 6: #2 @HofstraSoftball vs. Winner G5 – Noon
Game 7: If necessary – 30 minutes following G6

Saturday, May 9
Rain Date if necessary