ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team split its Colonial Athletic Association doubleheader versus Hofstra on Saturday, April 9, with the Pride earning a 10-3 game one victory before the Phoenix rebounded with a 7-1 win in the nightcap at Hunt Softball Park.
The Phoenix (21-16, 6-2 CAA) and the Pride (18-15, 3-4 CAA) will close out the series tomorrow in the rubber match with the opening pitch slated for a 1 p.m. start.
Game One: Hofstra 10, Elon 3
The Rundown: Elon jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second in the opening game against Hofstra. Hannah Olson reached on a one-out single to third base and moved to second on a wild pitch. A follow-up single by Carey Million advanced Olson to third before Kristin Hoover’s sacrifice fly to right field led to her crossing home plate for a 1-0 lead. Million herself plated the second run of the game for the Phoenix off Erica Serafini’s single to right field to put Elon ahead 2-0.
The Pride got a run back in the top of the third. Caryn Bailey’s RBI single to right field drove in Nikki Michalowski, who reached earlier on a leadoff single, to pull Hofstra within one, 2-1, after the third.
Hofstra took the lead in the top of the fifth behind a two-run home run that put the Phoenix in a 3-2 deficit. The Pride firmly took control of the contest behind a six-run top of the sixth aided by a grand slam from pinch hitter Isabel Hansbury and a solo shot from Bailey that made the score 9-2 Hofstra.
Both teams added a run in the seventh inning, but the Phoenix would suffer its fourth loss of the season at home to the Pride, 10-3.
At the Plate: Elon and Hofstra both tallied 11 hits in the game with the Phoenix leaving nine base runners on the bags…Olson, Kara Shutt, Emily Cameron and Alaina Hall each had two hits to lead the Phoenix…Olson, Hoover and Serafini had each of the Phoenix’s three RBI…Shutt also added a double, her 13th of the season.
In the Circle: Elise Walton (7-4) took the loss for Elon after the rookie gave up a season-high six earned runs in her 5.1 innings while also allowing eight hits…Abby Barker pitched 1.2 innings in relief and surrendered four runs, three earned, off three hits.
Game Two: Elon 7, Hofstra 1
The Rundown: Elon again had the early lead thanks to Olson homering for the second time in three games. The Yorktown, Va., native opened the Phoenix’s scoring in the second game with a solo shot to left field in the bottom of the second that put Elon up 1-0.
Hofstra tied it at 1-1 in the top half of the third. Brittany Allocca drove a RBI single to left center that scored Chloe Fitzgerald, who led off the inning on a single to center.
The Phoenix responded with a four-spot in the home half of the third. Cameron and Shutt had back-to-back one-out RBI singles before Million drove in two more runs on another single that put the Phoenix ahead 5-1.
Single runs in the fifth and sixth inning set the final score for the Phoenix, who prevailed with the 7-1 win and a split of the Pride to close out the twin bill.
At the Plate: The Phoenix had 11 hits in the second game and improved its record to 17-1 when outhitting the opponent…Million, Olson and Shutt had two hits a piece to lead the Phoenix…Shutt added a pair of RBI and extended her reached base streak to 21 games…Emily Roper received two hit-by-pitches in the game and has 13 on the year and 30 over the last two seasons.
In the Circle: Senior Kayla Caruso (6-4) won her third straight after tossing a complete game and giving up only one run off seven hits…She also struck out three batters…It was the third complete-game performance of the season for Caruso.