HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. ? Hoping to win the series finale and move into first place in the Colonial Athletic Association, the Tigers (21-11, 6-3) could manage only one hit against Hofstra ace Kayleigh Lotti, who threw a one-hit shutout to lift the Pride (16-12, 7-1) to a 7-0 victory over the Tigers in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.
With the victory, the Pride took the series by two games to one. The teams split a doubleheader on Saturday. Hofstra's win also kept Towson Coach Lisa Costello from posting her 400th career victory.
Junior second baseman Mindy Bean had the Tigers' lone hit. She led off the seventh inning with a single to right center.
“We struggled defensively," said Coach Costello. "We didn't make all the plays today and that hurt us."
The Pride struck first by scoring a single run in the bottom of the first. Hofstra added to its lead with three runs in the bottom of the second. Casey Fee reached on an error with one out and Trisha Dreslinski scored on the play. Kris Root had an infield single that scored Erika Bernstein and Michele DePasquale had a RBI groundout that allowed Fee to score.
Hofstra added a single run in the fourth as Root's double scored Bernstein making it a 5-0 lead. The Pride added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to make it a 7-0 lead.
Bean singled to right center leading off the seventh inning and advanced to third on a pair of groundouts. But Lotti, who was the CAA Pitcher of the Year in 2008, pitched out of the inning as she preserved her shutout. Lotti, who raised her record to 11-4 on the season, walked two and had 12 strikeouts.
Bean had the only hit of the game while Emily Gould and Andrea Stevenson drew walks. Root and DePasquale had three hits apiece for the Pride. Root had two RBIs and a run scored while DePasquale drove in three runs.
Shannon Johnston fell to 12-5 on the year as she allowed seven runs, three of which were earned. She struck out three and walked one. The Tigers committed three errors in the game, leading to four unearned runs.
The Tigers return to action on Tuesday, April 7 when they host La Salle University in a doubleheader at 3 p.m. The Tigers need one win to get Coach Costello the 400th victory of her career.
