April 2, 2010

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - In its first road contest of the season, the George Mason softball team battled strong pitching at perennial Colonial Athletic Association power Hofstra and the Pride came away with two victories in Friday's doubleheader, defeating the Patriots by 8-0 and 6-1 margins.

Hofstra maintained its unblemished mark in CAA play improving to 5-0 in conference and 20-6 overall while Mason fell to 8-15 and 1-4 in conference.

In game one, Hofstra's Olivia Galati held the Patriot offense off the base paths while the Pride offense got going early, as Sara Michalowski's two-run home run to right field off Mason starter Becky Anderson (3-2) put Hofstra on the scoreboard.

The Pride added three more runs in the third inning, using a RBI groundout by Michelle DePasquale along with run-scoring singles from Tessa Ziemba and Galati. After a scoreless fourth, Hofstra saw another Ziemba RBI single and a Becca Bigler RBI sacrifice fly make the score 7-0. With runners on the corners, Michalowski's fielder's choice to shortstop allowed Ziemba to score and invoke the run-rule victory.

Galati recorded 12 of the 15 outs with a strikeout and did not surrender any walks to earn her first career perfect game and improve to 12-2 on the season.

Mason wasted no time denting the scoreboard in the second game of the day, taking the lead in the top of the first half. Leadoff batter Tori Dudley was hit by a pitch, and after Alyssa See also took first after taking a pitch, Dudley moved into scoring position. She was sacrificed over to third by Rachael Davies and came home to score on Katie Rynex's sacrifice fly to right field.

That lead held up for the first two and a half innings, before the Pride put up five runs in the bottom of the third. DePasquale had an RBI hit to left while Ziemba and Galati each drove in a pair on their base hits to the right side of the outfield.

Meanwhile, following the first the Patriots could not advance another runner into scoring position as they were limited to just one hit, a Rynex single which led off the fourth. Hofstra added its final run in the fifth, an RBI double by Ziemba.

Erin Wade threw a complete game to earn the win and improve to 7-4 while Mason's Miranda Cranford fell to 3-9 after taking the loss.

The teams will close out the series on Saturday afternoon at noon.