Mathis’ Near No-Hit Bid Lifts Charleston Past Hofstra; Advances to Face No. 2 Elon
Dylan Smith
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Charleston’s
Mackenzie Mathis dominated in the circle, going 5.1 innings without surrendering a hit to lift the No. 3 seed Cougars past sixth-seeded Hofstra, 5-2, at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium on Wednesday. Mathis tossed her 12th complete game of the season, striking out seven batters across her seven innings of work.
Catcher
Leela Langston provided most of the run support with a pair of RBIs in the contest.
Austy Miller also crossed home plate twice in the winning effort.
Halle Cannon and
Jay Wrightsman produced two-hit performances, with the latter tallying a run and an RBI in the contest.
Charleston (31-23) jumped out to a 1-0 lead behind an RBI two-bagger from Langston, bringing in
Miller on her rip to left-center. The Cougars doubled their lead, 2-0, in the second inning after Wrightsman laced the first pitch she saw into center for an RBI base knock.
Mathis settled in after a pair of early free bases given to Hofstra, including a one-out walk to
Gemma D’Orazio in the second. The freshman pitcher rattled off 11 consecutive outs to stifle the Pride, maintaining a two-run lead through the top of the fifth.
The Cougars tacked on two additional runs in the home half, starting with a sacrifice fly from Langston to bring home Wrightsman. Miller rushed home in the ensuing at-bat after watching a pitch trickle away for a passed ball and a 4-0 lead. Charleston put up one more run in the bottom of the sixth, seeing Cannon rip an RBI single to go up 5-0.
Hofstra (20-27) did not go down quietly as the Pride strung together a leadoff single by
Tyler Douglas and an RBI double from pinch hitter
Olivia Malinowski to end the shutout, 5-1.
Chelsea Villar also sent a sacrifice fly out to right field, bringing D’Orazio in from third to make it a 5-2 game. Mathis struck out the final batter to end the game and secure Charleston’s spot in the next round.
The Cougars will return to action on Thursday, May 8, when they take on second-seeded Elon at 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 7
Game 1:
No. 4 Campbell 13, No. 5 Stony Brook 7
Game 2:
No. 3 Charleston 5, No. 6 Hofstra 2
Game 3: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 - 5 p.m.
Thursday, May 8
Game 4: No. 1 Delaware vs. No. 4 Campbell - 12 p.m.
Game 5: No. 2 Elon vs. Winner of Game 2 - 2:30 p.m.
Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Lower Seed of Games 4 & 5 Losers - 5 p.m.
Friday, May 9
Game 7: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5 - 12 p.m.
Game 8: Winner of Game 6 vs. Higher Seed Games 4 & 5 Losers - 2:30 p.m.
Game 9: Winner of Game 8 vs. Loser of Game 7 - 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 10
Game 10: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9 - 12 p.m.
Game 11: If Necessary - 2:30 p.m.
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