Hofstra Stays Alive with 7-2 Victory over Stony Brook
Dylan Smith
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BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Hofstra (21-27) kept its title hopes alive with a 7-2 victory over fifth-seeded Stony Brook (25-25) at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium on Wednesday.
Sophomore
Mackenzie Fitzgerald notched three RBIs in the winning effort, going 1-for-2 with a double. Fellow classmate
Dahlia Palacio went 2-for-3 at the dish with a run scored and an RBI, while
Chelsea Villar also recorded a two-hit game with a tally.
The pitching tandem of
Carley Ernst and
Emma Falen surrendered a combined two runs on three hits with two punchouts apiece.
Hofstra registered a three-run opening frame, starting with a sacrifice fly from Palacio to make it 1-0. Following a single from
Tyler Douglas to put runners on the corners, Fitzgerald smacked a two-run double past the diving centerfielder and into the right-center alleyway for a 3-0 lead.
The Pride continued to increase its advantage in the second frame, capitalizing on a Stony Brook miscue before
Anna Butler took a 1-1 pitch into left field for an RBI base hit and a 5-0 edge.
Stony Brook broke up the shutout in the bottom of the third after shortstop
Kyra McFarland worked her way around the bases and scored on a wild pitch to pull within four, 5-1. The Seawolves posted another run, 5-2, in the home half of the fourth frame as
Naiah Ackerman laced an RBI double down the right field line to knock in
Emma Scheitinger.
Hofstra added to its lead in the fifth, taking a 7-2 advantage. Palacio raced home following a Stony Brook error on Douglas’ swipe of second, eventually reaching third on the same play. The agile sophomore crossed the plate five pitches later on a sacrifice fly to right.
The Pride’s Falen came on in relief and tossed 3.2 innings of one-hit action. The junior worked herself into trouble in the sixth inning with a pair of walks but induced a groundout fielder’s choice to end the frame. The right-hander took just 10 pitches in the final frame to close the door, striking out the final Pride batter to end the game.
Hofstra will wait on its next opponent as they will take on the lower seed of the losers from games four and five in a 5 p.m. contest.
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:
No. 6 Hofstra 7, No. 5 Stony Brook 2
Thursday, May 8
Game 4: No. 1 Delaware vs. No. 4 Campbell - 12 p.m.
Game 5: No. 2 Elon vs. No. 3 Charleston - 2:30 p.m.
Game 6: No. 6 Hofstra 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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