Seton Hall University
Hofstra
Hofstra Outlasts Softball 6-3 in 13 Innings
4/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall University softball team lost to Hofstra University, 6-3, in 13 innings in its 2015 non-conference finale on Tuesday afternoon at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field.
For the Pirates, it was their longest game in more than nine years, since battling Villanova to a 2-1 victory over 16 innings on April 16, 2005.
Seton Hall had a chance to win in regulation, taking a 3-1 lead into the seventh inning, only to see Hofstra come back and tie things up when Megan Patierno hit a two-run homer off reliever Lauren Fischer (Robbinsville, N.J.).
Fischer had come in to replace Casey Moses (Lower Burrell, Pa.) who lasted 6.1 strong innings, having given up just one earned run on five hits. However, Erin Trippi led off the seventh with a hard hit single up the middle, leading SHU to turn to the bullpen.
After giving up the home run, Fischer settled in to retire the next two, and would not allow another run until the 13th, pitching 5.2 scoreless before the Pride offense broke through.
In the top of the 13th, Kim Smith and Lacey Clark led off with back-to-back singles, but after a groundout and strikeout, the Pride had runners at second and third for Patierno, who drove in what proved to be the game-winner with a base hit through the left side. That sparked what turned into a three-run inning for Hofstra, although the last two tallies were unearned.
Needing three runs to prolong the game, with two away senior Sam DeMasi (Lockport, Ill.) doubled down the right field line, but would come up with the only base hit of the inning for The Hall.
Seton Hall had jumped on Hofstra starter Morgan Lashley early on, in fact, Lashley lasted just 1.2 after giving up a double to Sara Haefeli (Montclair, N.J.) and a towering home run to Danielle DeStaso (Congers, N.Y.) in the bottom of the second, making it 2-0. For DeStaso, the homer was her 11th of the season and 34th of her career, which ranks second all-time at Seton Hall.
Taylor Pirone would replace Lashley with two outs in the second and was largely effective for the rest of the game, with the exception of allowing an RBI base hit to Alexis Walkden (Cibolo, Texas) in the third.
Prione improved to 13-10 after throwing the final 11.1 innings, tossing 165 pitches, 128 for strikes. She allowed 13 base hits, but never more than two in the same inning.
As a result, Seton Hall had several chances to expand on its lead, but was never able to do so. In the 5th, SHU had runners at second and third following Haefeli's second double of the day, but DeStaso was unable to come up with a timely base hit. The next inning once again saw Seton Hall with two runners in scoring position, but this time Yasmin Harrell (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) grounded out to second.
In the bottom of the seventh, SHU had Whitney Jones (Skowhegan, Maine) at third and Walkden standing on second thanks to a Haefeli sacrifice, but a head's up defensive play allowed Pirone to catch Jones at third before Alex Rabbetts (Corona, Calif.) grounded out to short to end the inning.
Haefeli went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, with Walkden also collecting three base hits to go along with an RBI. Left fielder Jackie DiPietro (Horsham, Pa.) was also 3-for-6 at the plate.
Seton Hall returns to action this weekend when it hosts Georgetown University in a three game series Saturday-Sunday, May 2-3. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday at 12 p.m., with the regular season finale and Senior Day scheduled for Sunday at 12 p.m.
