Live from Canisius vs. Hofstra
HEMPSTEAD -- A chance to face Arizona in the regional final is on the line as Canisius and Hofstra begin play in this morning's elimination game.
Arizona cruised through both Canisius and Hofstra on Saturday, defeating the teams in five innings. The Wildcats will face this morning's winner at 12:30 for the right to advance to next week's Super Regionals of the NCAA tournament.
Check back for updates from Hofstra Softball Stadium.
First inning
Batting in the vistors spot, Hofstra went down in order to start the game.
Lauren Hope had a one-out single, stole second and moved to third on a ground out by Katie Miranto but Michelle Fridey struck out swinging to end the threat.
Second inning
Pam Dreslinski hit a two-out double off the wall in left field, Carolann Lubach drew a walk and Melissa Hodge singled to short left to load the bases but pinch hitter Stefanie Feinstein grounded out to third keeping the game scoreless.
The Griffs are retired in order.
Third inning
Morris settles down in the circle after a rocky second inning. Hofstra doesn't hit a ball out of the infield and the Pride go down in order.
Hofstra's infield avoided a costly error when Brittany Bonetto skied the ball between the circle and home plate. No Pride player clearly called for the ball and it dropped. Bonetto ran to second but no Hofstra player touched the ball and it rolled back and foul. Bonnetto then flied out to center for the second out of the inning. Jenny Maheu and Lauren Hope had back-to-back singles but Katie Miranto grounded out to the pitcher to strand the runners.
Fourth inning
Courtney Oliver led off with a single but was called out for leaving the base early, erasing a hit by Michele DePasquale. With two outs Morris walked Dreslinksi on four straight pitches but Lubach lined out third. Still no score.
Cameron Norton drew a one-out walk but Emily Helbig flew out to left and Ashley Bonetto grounded out into a fielder's choice to keep the zeros on the board.
Fifth inning
Juliette Bowers takes to the circle for Canisius. Melissa Hodge drew a lead-off walk. Bowers then struck out Kris Root looking but Hodge advanced to second on a wild pitch. Casey Fee then singled and was called safe when she stretched it to second, leaving runners on second and third with one out. Erika Bernstein's hit was fielded cleaning by the Griffs, getting the runner out at the plate. Canisius then turned it into a double play as they threw to second to try and catch Bernstein stretching the hit but then went back home with catcher Angela Turrey blocking the plate and getting the out to end the inning and the threat.
Three up, three down for the Griffs as the game remains tied, 0-0.
Sixth inning
Hofstra takes a 4-0 lead. Sara Michalowski led off with a single and went to second on a wild pitch. Courtney Oliver then drove a 3-2 pitch through right field putting runners on the corners with no outs. Mallory Aldred, the Griffs closer, came in to pitch but gave up an RBI single to Michele DePasquale as the Pride took a 1-0 lead. With the bases loaded and no outs Carolann Lubach had a scarifice fly to left field then Melissa Hodge's single was misplayed allowing two more runs to score for a 4-0 Pride lead.
Lauren Hope led off with a single and moved to second on a stolen base but Katie Miranto's line drive was caught by the first baseman and Hope was doubled off second. Michelle Fridey drew a walk but Cameron Norton flew out to shallow left keeping the Griffs off the scoreboard.
Seventh inning
With the bases loaded and no outs, a ground out by Michele DePasquale scored a run to give Hofstra a 5-0 lead. It's last chance for the Griffs in their final at-bat of regulation play.
Ashely Bonetto hit a one-out solo home run to keep the Griffs from being shutout but the Griffs get no other base runners.
Final
Hofstra wins, 5-1, eliminating Canisius from the tournament. The Griffs finish the season at 39-14 with the most wins in program history.
--- Amy Moritz
Nice coverage, Buffalo News!
Posted by: Ricky | May 19, 2008 at 02:44 PM
Great coverage on the Griffs softball run, by radiostream, stattracker, and blog here.
Congratulations to the entire team, especially the seniors, on a record win season. Mike Rappl has been Keeper of the Flame through the years. I've enjoyed watching their games here. Used to coach little league softball at Mel Ott, and it carries over. Griffs, you can hold your heads high, you battled to the final out.
Posted by: David, Amherst | May 18, 2008 at 01:43 PM