Pride Capture 11th CAA Softball Title
Tim McDonnell
#CAAChamps Central | Boxscore | Highlights
HARRISONBURG, Va. (May 8, 2015) – Sophomore Lacey Clark drove in both of Hofstra’s runs and seniors Taylor Pirone and Morgan Lashley each had strong outings in the circle to help the second-seeded Pride defeat defending champion and top-seeded James Madison, 2-1, in Game 7 of the 2015 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Softball Championship.
Hofstra, which captures its 11
th CAA Softball title and third crown in the past four seasons, will represent the CAA in the NCAA Tournament with the league’s automatic bid. The Pride, and likely the Dukes as well, finds out their postseason fate on Sunday night at 10:00 p.m. during a selection show on ESPNU.
Pirone was picked as the Tournament Most Outstanding Performer, earning the win after tossing 4.2 innings and allowing one run on five hits. She finished the championship week with a perfect 3-0 record and 1.09 ERA over 19.1 frames. Junior Chloe Fitzgerald added one hit and scored both runs, while Clark finished 2-for-3.
The No. 17/18 Dukes, who were looking for the program’s third CAA title, forced game 7 by beating the Pride in the first game on Thursday, 4-3. Freshman Megan Good, the conference Pitcher and Rookie of the Year, was tagged with her second loss of the year and fell to 28-2. The righty allowed both runs one five hits and also walked four in the loss.
The Dukes, who also expect to earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament with the current No. 12 RPI, had five different players record all of the team’s hits. JMU entered the week as the No. 17/18 team in Division I and led the nation with a 35-game winning streak.
Friday’s forced second game was the fifth occurrence that the softball championship game needed to go to two games and the first since 2011. Interestingly, this is the fifth time in CAA softball championship tournament history that the final contest has come down to the deciding seventh game. Hofstra has been involved in all five of those occasions. In 2008, the Pride defeated Madison twice on the final day of the tournament in Hempstead to claim the trophy outright.
After a slow start doomed the Pride in the first game on Friday, things changed in the second contest. Fitzgerald opened the game with a short lining single off the glove of a diving Niki Prince at short. Fitzgerald moved to second two batters later with two down, but came around to score after Clark drove a single just past JMU second basemen Morgan Tolle.
In the third, Clark came through again for the Pride. With two outs, and runners on first and second thanks to a single and a walk, she poked a single through the left side to push the lead to 2-0.
The Dukes found the scoreboard in the fifth and the cut the deficit to one run. Tolle hit a one-out single and then sophomore Caitlin Viafora came in as a pinch runner, soon moving to second on a steal. Sophomore Tahli Moore moved Viafora to third on a fielder’s choice to the right side and then Pirone hit Prince to put runners on the corners.
Field followed with a liner through the left side to make it 2-1. That was the last batter Pirone faced, before Lashley came in and ended the remaining threat by fanning Good.
Lashley was sensational in relief, retiring five of seven batters she faced via a strikeout. In the final inning, the right-handed senior forced a pop out, a deep fly-out and fanned pinch hitter Alyssa Buddle to secure the win for the No. 2 seed.
Notes: Hofstra has advanced to the NCAA postseason tournament 16 times in program history, including 11 times as a member of the CAA. JMU has reached the NCAA tourney each of the last two seasons. Hofstra has the current No. 22 RPI. The conference softball tournament has gone to the deciding Game 7 five times in its history (2004, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2015). Hofstra junior Caryn Bailey leads the CAA with 16 homers this season and set tournament records with home runs (4) and total bases (18). Bailey finished 6-for-9 with eight RBI, four homers, five walks and six runs.
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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: #3
@ElonUSoftball 8, #4
@Towson_SB 6
Game 5: #1
@JMU_Softball 13, #3
@ElonUSoftball 2 (5)
Friday, May 8
Game 6: #1
@JMU_Softball 4, #2
@HofstraSoftball 3
Game 7: #2
@HofstraSoftball 2, #1
@JMU_Softball 1
CAA ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Alaina Hall, Elon | Sophomore | Outfielder/Pitcher
Kara Shutt, Elon | Freshman | Outfielder
Caryn Bailey, Hofstra | Junior | Outfielder
Chloe Fitzgerald, Hofstra | Junior | Outfielder
Morgan Lashley, Hofstra | Senior | Pitcher
Taylor Pirone, Hofstra | Senior | Pitcher*
Erica Field, James Madison | Junior | Catcher
Megan Good, James Madison | Freshman | Pitcher/Infielder
Jailyn Ford, James Madison | Junior | Pitcher/First Basemen
Holiday Cahill, Towson | Sophomore | Catcher/Third Basemen
Olivia Yarbrough, Towson | Junior | Outfielder
*- Most Outstanding Performer