Softball Falls to Hofstra, 3-2, in Home Opener

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham softball team took a quick 2-0 lead in the early innings but Hofstra's Sarah Cornell silenced the Rams' bats thereafter, allowing the Pride to rally for a 3-2 win in Fordham's home opener. With the loss, the Rams fall to 20-7 on the year, while Hofstra improves to 9-10 overall.

With Lauren Quense dealing with an injury, the Rams sent out freshman Madison Aughinbaugh to make her eighth start of the year and the Port Tobacco, Md. native set down the Pride 1-2-3 in a quick first frame. Amy Van Hoven got her team on the board almost immediately with a solo home run to straightaway center on the second pitch she saw, her first of the year. The Rams loaded the bases with the next three hitters but Cornell struck out Skylar Johnston and Ally Vergona to get out of the jam. Fordham got to Cornell again in the second for another run, with Morgan Figueroa slapping a double the opposite way down the left field line and scoring on Van Hoven's single to center two three batters later.

Hofstra broke up Aughinbaugh's perfect game bid in the fourth with a one-out Brielle Pietrafesa single and would eventually score in the inning on the first of Lacey Clark's two doubles on the day. The Pride added one run in each of the next two innings to tie and take the lead for good. In the fifth, Aughinbaugh recorded two quick outs but a fielding error by Jessica Hughes allowed leadoff hitter Kristin Hallam to reach and another by Van Hoven allowed her to score a couple batters later. The freshman hurler bounced back by striking out Brittany Allocca to end the inning.
 
Taylor Stocks replaced her freshman classmate in the circle in the fifth. Lacey Clark smacked her second double of the day to open the inning, down the left field line, and was moved over to third via a sacrifice bunt, and scoring the go-ahead run two batters later, with two outs, on a wild pitch from Stocks.
 
Fordham threatened to at least tie the game up in both the sixth and seventh innings but could not deliver. Cornell, bumping her pitch count north of 130 by the end of the contest, would load the bases in the sixth with two outs but get out of it and then walk her first two hitters in the seventh, Hughes and Van Hoven, but induce two pop ups to the infield from Madison Shaw and Chelsea Skrepenak before striking out Vergona to end the game.
 
Aughinback finished with two runs allowed (one earned) on four hits and a walk across five innings, striking out a pair, while Stocks, picking up her first loss, allowed one earned run on one hit in two innings, also striking out a pair.
 
Van Hoven led the Rams offensively, tallying hits in her first three at bats, finishing 3-for-4 with the solo blast but also three runners left stranded. Figuroa picked up two hits in three at bats, scoring once, and Mayer recorded Fordham's only other hit. Fordham walked six times in total but also struck out the same amount. Cornell moved to 8-4 on the year with seven complete innings of two-run ball on six hits.
 
The Rams' scheduled Wednesday afternoon contest with Iona has been officially cancelled due to impending weather. Fordham's next contests will come this weekend when conference play begins in earnest with a three-game set against Rhode Island at Bahoshy Field. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 12 p.m.