Box Score
Hempstead, N.Y. - Top-seeded Hofstra advanced to the championship of the 2003 Colonial Athletic Association Softball Tournament with a 6-0 win over George Mason in a winner's bracket game on Friday afternoon at Hofstra Softball Stadium. Towson also advanced through to the championship with a 1-0 win over Delaware and a 2-1 win over George Mason in the loser's bracket, picking up a pair of late-inning RBI singles.
Hofstra and Towson will face each other at 12 noon for the CAA Championship, the third year in and fourth time in the last five years that the two schools will meet for a conference championship. The Pride defeated Towson in the 1999 and 2001 America East title games, and then defeated the Tigers in the inaugural CAA Championship last year. Hofstra, which is 2-0 at the tournament, can capture the title with a single win, while if Towson wins at noon, the two teams will play a second game to determine the champion.
Game Three (Towson 1, Delaware 0) - Sophomore first baseman Sam Schaukowitch (San Bruno, CA/Ignatius) hit a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 0-0 tie and give the Towson Softball team a 1-0 win over Delaware in an elimination game at the CAA Tournament on Friday morning at Hofstra.
Sophomore pitcher Jessica Wides (Damascus, MD/Damascus), the 2003 CAA Pitcher of the Year, threw a three-hit shutout to improve to 15-10 on the season. She retired the first 10 batters she faced in order and only got in minor trouble one time, when she left runners on first and third in the fifth inning as Delaware center fielder Sarai Lavandero (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) hit a sharp liner to third that was snared by Towson freshman Keely Walsh (Livermore, CA/Livermore) for the last out of the inning.
Towson scored the game's only run in the sixth inning when it got a second life. With two outs, senior center fielder Michelle Cappe (Pasadena, MD/Chesapeake) hit an infield pop-up that freshman pitcher Lindsay Jones (South Milwaukee, WI/South Milwaukee) dropped. Senior second baseman Chris Navarro then lined a single to right field, and Schaukowitch followed with a line drive single to left to plate Cappe. Wides allowed a leadoff single to Delaware shortstop Laura Streets (Newark, DE/Newark) in the seventh, but after a sacrifice bunt moved her to second, she retired the final two batters to get the win. Jones allowed just four hits for Delaware, but took the loss to fall to 8-6.
Game Four (Hofstra 6, George Mason 0) - For the second straight day, sophomore pitcher Adrienne Clark (Gibsonston, FL/Riverview) earned the win and junior pitcher Alexis Alcantara (Levittown, NY/Notre Dame) picked up a save as Hofstra advanced through to the championship with a 6-0 win over George Mason on Friday afternoon.
Clark threw 4.2 innings of four-hit ball for her 10th straight win in the circle to improve to 11-2 on the year. That is one shy of the Hofstra school record held by Stacy Jackson and Alicia Smith. Alcantara came on with the bases loaded in the fifth and got the final out and preserved the shutout by scattering two hits over the final two innings.
Hofstra got all the offense it would need in the first inning when sophomore designated player Stefanie Kenney (Malvern, PA/Great Valley) hit a two-out, two-run double with the bases loaded. Sophomore center fielder Hailey Clark (Caledon, Ontatio/Mayfield) and senior shortstop Danielle Stewart (Queensland, Australia/ Brisbane) each had an RBI single in the second to stretch the lead to 4-0, and freshman third baseman Tara Ulrich (West Nyack, NY/Clarkstown South) capped off the scoring with an RBI double in the fourth to make the score 6-0.
Both teams had plenty of scoring chances, as George Mason stranded 11 runners on the game, while Hofstra stranded eight. The Pride had eight different players account for its eight hits on the afternoon, while senior first baseman Amanda Hallaway (Garden Grove, CA/Calvary Chapel) reached base all four times on three walks and a single. For George Mason, sophomore shortstop Stacy James (Leesburg, VA/Loudon County), who batted 2-for-4, and junior first baseman Kim Braxton (Lynchburg, VA/Heritage), who was 2-for-3 each had multi-hit games.
The win improved Hofstra's record to 18-1 at home this season, and 18-0 in home games against CAA opponents in the two-year history of the league.
Game Five (Towson 2, George Mason 1) - George Mason eliminated - Sophomore shortstop Katie Mumbauer (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) had an RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to break a 1-1 tie and give the Towson Softball team a 2-1 win over George Mason on Friday afternoon at Hofstra Softball Stadium.
Pinch-hitter Amanda Bryant (Fort Collins, CO/Rocky Mountain) started the rally with a two-out single to left field. Sophomore left fielder Jenny Edwards (Kirkland, WA/Juanita) re-entered the game for Bryant and stole second on an 0-2 pitch. Mumbauer then lined a single to left field, and Edwards just barely eluded the sweep tag of George Mason catcher Amanda Ayers (Ashland, VA/Patrick Henry) for the game-winning run.
George Mason tied the score 1-1 in the fifth inning, but Towson was fortunate to escape without further damage. The Patriots loaded the bases with nobody out against Towson starter Beth Wilcox (Kingston, NY/Kingston) and brought CAA Player of the Year Stacy James (Leesburg, VA/Loudon County) to the plate. James, though flew out to shallow left field, though, and freshman left fielder Missy Hartman (Manassas, VA/Manassas Park) followed with an RBI groundout to third to even the score, but George Mason had to settle for the one run.
Towson took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when freshman right fielder Jillian Fraser (Livermore, CA/Livermore) hit a ball up the middle with the bases loaded and two outs. Hartman slid to her backhand side and nearly came up with the defensive play, but the ball bounced away for the go-ahead run.
Wilcox allowed just four hits and one run on the day to improve to 12-11 on the season for the Tigers. Junior Dianna Austin took the hard-luck loss for George Mason, allowing five hits and two runs on the afternoon to slip to 13-7.
2003 CAA Softball Championship Schedule/Results
Thursday, May 8
Game 1: George Mason 2, Delaware 1
Game 2: Hofstra 4, Towson 2
Friday, May 9
Game 3: Towson 1, Delaware 0 - Delaware eliminated
Game 4: Hofstra 6, George Mason 0
Game 5: Towson 2, George Mason 1 - George Mason eliminated
Saturday, May 10
Game 6: Championship - Hofstra (36-15) vs. Towson (31-21-1), 12 p.m.
Game 7: Championship Game 2 - same two teams (if necessary), 30 minutes after conclusion of first game.
