Charleston Prevails 6-5 In Extras To Defeat Hofstra In Day One Nightcap
Charleston Prevails 6-5 In Extras To Defeat Hofstra In Day One Nightcap
Charleston rallied off four runs in the top of the ninth, which proved to be the difference in the game.
Fifth-seeded Charleston scored six unanswered runs to come back and defeat second-seeded Hofstra 6-5 in nine innings during game four of the CAA Softball Championship presented by Primis.
Charleston improves to 15-36 after the victory and lives to fight another day, advancing to face No. 4 Elon tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. Hofstra concludes the season 21-27 after the setback and is eliminated from the CAA tournament.
Charleston rallied off four runs in the top of the ninth, which proved to be the difference in the game. Noel Dominguez led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a passed ball. Dominguez scored the first run of the inning on an error, with Aniz Roman reaching on the play. Jenna Carter singled to set up runners on first and second before a Jenna Helberg RBI single made it 4-2. The next batter, Mia Dittoe tripled, shooting the ball to the left-center gap, scoring Carter and Helberg.
Hofstra made it interesting in the bottom half of the inning as Madison McKevitt hit a three-run homer with two outs to pull the Pride within one, 6-5. Meghan Giordano walked to lead off the Pride half of the inning and two batters later, Aliya Catanzarita singled. After the homer, Anna Butler walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch before Carli McCants relieved Peyton Lemire in the circle and recorded the final out.
The Cougars tied things up in the top of the sixth. Dittoe led off the inning with a double, and she moved to third on a Shealyn Starks sacrifice bunt. After a strikeout, Dittoe came home on a wild pitch knotting the game at two runs apiece.
Charleston got on the board in the top of the fourth, cutting the deficit to one on a Noel Dominguez RBI single. After back-to-back outs to begin the inning, Payton Wade ripped a double into the left-center gap before scoring on the Dominguez hit.
The Pride opened the scoring in an eventful bottom of the first. Chelsea Manto led off with an infield single and stole second base to put a runner in scoring position. Manto scored on a two-base error the following at-bat as Kasey Collins reached and swapped places with her. Meghan Giordano and Catanzarita walked later in the inning to load the bases, but Peyton Lemire avoided any further damage.
Hofstra tacked on another run in the bottom of the second, getting its leadoff hitter on for the second straight inning. Kayla Wilson walked, and Devyn Losco moved up Wilson with a sac bunt. Kasey Collins recorded an RBI single, scoring Wilson to extend the lead to 2-0.
Lemire (5-11) pitched 8.2 innings for the Cougars, racking up 165 total pitches, while earning the victory. Dittoe paced Charleston at the plate, going 3-for-5 in the game, coming up a home run short of the cycle with two RBIs and a run scored.
A pair of hitters for the Pride recorded three hits in the contest. Wilson reached base four times, going 3-for-3 at the plate and drawing a walk. McKevitt went 3-for-5, recording a pair of singles in addition to her homer, adding three RBIs and a run scored.