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Hofstra University Athletics

Olivia Galati, Rachael Senatore

DRESLINSKI HOME RUN KEYS HOFSTRA COMEBACK IN 8-6 WIN OVER OKLAHOMA STATE

5/22/2010 1:00:00 AM

Tuscon, Ariz. - Junior shortstop Trisha Dreslinski (Kingsville, Ohio) hit a three-run homer to start a comeback from a 4-0 deficit as Hofstra defeated No. 14 Oklahoma State 8-6 on the first day of the NCAA Regionals at Hillenbrand Stadium  

The win improves Hofstra's record to 44-10 on the season, and it will now face No. 3 Arizona tomorrow at 2 p.m. (Pacific time), after the Wildcats knocked off Cornell 9-0 in the second opening round game in Tucson. Oklahoma State falls to 43-15 and will play Cornell at 4 p.m. in an elimination game.

Hofstra gave up four runs in the bottom of the third, but answered back by starting off the fourth inning with back-to-back singles from freshman right fielder Tessa Ziemba (Wilmington, Del.) and sophomore second baseman Jess Hirschbuhl (Jamison, Pa.). One-out later, Dreslinski hit a three-run homer to pull the Pride back within 4-3, her second-career round-tripper, both of which have come this season.  

Senior center fielder Kris Root (Waynesboro, Pa.) then singled to center with two outs to extend her hitting streak to 19 games, the second longest streak in school history. She stole second, but Cowgirl relief pitcher Anna Whiddon was able to get freshman designated player Rachael Senatore (Sparta, N.J.) swinging to leave the tying run on second.

In the fifth, Whiddon walked junior third baseman Sara Michalowski (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Ziemba with one out, before hitting Hirschbuhl to load the bases. Left fielder Becca Bigler (Bainbridge, Pa.) then lined a single back up the middle to tie the score at 4-4, and a wild pitch scored Ziemba from third to give the Pride a 5-4 lead. Dreslinski's slow roller in the infield nearly scored another run, but third baseman Mariah Gearhart made a strong defensive play to charge the ball and get Hirschbuhl at the plate. Senior pinch-hitter Christie Novatin (Farmingdale, N.J.) then lined a bullet right to shortstop Chelsea Garcia to end the inning, leaving Bigler on third.

Root and Senatore led off the top of the sixth with back-to-back singles, and DePasquale nearly added to the Pride lead, but flew out to the wall in left. Michalowski then lined a single back up the middle, and Root was held at third, but Senatore didn't see the hold sign and ran towards third base. With two Hofstra runners on the same bag, though, first baseman Julie Ward saw her throw sail wide and up the third base line, as both Root and Senatore scored and Michalowski ran around to third base. Ziemba then lined a shot into the left-center field gap that was caught by Oklahoma State left fielder Katelyn Bright, but Michalowski easily scored from third to stretch the lead to 8-4.  

The Cowgirls responded in the bottom of the sixth with two runs to cut the Pride lead in half. A leadoff single from Megan Castle and a double from Chelsea Garcia put runners on second and third with nobody out, and Hofstra went to sophomore Erin Wade (Taunton, Mass.) in relief. A sacrifice fly from pinch hitter Taylor Marcum moved the runners up a base and cut the lead to 8-5, and Gearhart chopped an infield single to make the score 8-6, but Wade got the final two outs on infield choppers to prevent further damage.

First baseman Julie Ward led off the seventh inning with an infield single that tipped off Wade's glove, but the next two batters grounded out. Root thne made a running catch on a fly ball to shallow left-center from Megan Castle to end the game and give Wade the save and freshman starter Olivia Galati (West Babylon, N.Y.) her 25th win of the year (one shy of the school record).

Oklahoma State scored four times in the fourth inning to take a 4-0 lead. Gearhart led off the third with a bunt single for the Cowgirls, just beating the throw from Hofstra catcher Courtney Crews (Stafford, Va.). She then stole second, barely beating the tag from Dreslinski. Left fielder Katelyn Bright hit a grounder up the middle, and the throw from Hirschbuhl pulled first baseman Michele DePasquale (Waterford, N.J.) off the bag for an error.

Second baseman Alysia Hamilton then hit another grounder up the middle that hit off Hirschbuhl's leg and rolled behind all the way third base to score a run and put runners on second and third with nobody out. Julie Ward then took advantage of the Pride's miscues by taking a 3-2 pitch the other way for a three-run homer to give the Cowgirls a short-lived 4-0 lead.   

Hofstra made a bid for an early lead in the first inning, as Senatore slapped a single in front of home plate, right after Root was nipped at first on a slap to shortstop to start the game. DePasquale followed with a long drive down the right field line, but Castle was able to settle under it on the front of the warning track. Michalowski then lined a single to left to put two runners on with two out, but Ziemba popped up to shortstop to end the threat.  

Oklahoma State had a two-out single in the bottom of the first, as Alysia Hamilton flared a shallow ball into left field that Bigler trapped with a diving catch attempt. Hamilton tried to go to second on the play, though, and Bigler was able to throw her out from her knees to end the inning.  

With one out in the second, Bigler hit a hard line drive that one-hopped the wall in left field, but the ball took a clean bounce for Oklahoma State left fielder Katelyn Bright, who was able to hold Bigler to a single. Dreslinski sacrificed her to second, but Cowgirls pitcher Kat Espinoza caught Crews looking to end the inning. Oklahoma State loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom half, but Bigler handled a dangerous liner from Kelsey Anchors to end that threat and keep the game scoreless going into the third.

Root finished 3-for-5 for the Pride with two stolen bases (improving her to 16-16 stealing this year and giving her 54 steals in her career, one shy of the school record held by Lisa Wambold). Bigler, Michalowski and Senatore each added two hits as Hofstra finished with 13 hits as a team.  Galati struck out three and walked three, while giving up four earned runs in five innings, but improved to 25-6 on the year with the win.

Hofstra, which is now one win shy of the school record for wins in a season, met Arizona in the 2008 NCAA Regionals in Hempstead, with the Wildcats knocking off the Pride in the regional finals 5-0. The teams have played three times in the last two seasons, with Arizona winning all three by shutout (10-0, 5-0, 10-0).  The winner on Saturday will move on to Sunday's regional finals, while the loser will face the Oklahoma State-Cornell winner in an elimination game on Saturday evening.
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