Baylor
Hofstra
Softball Blasts into Hempstead Regional Final
5/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 19, 2007
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. --- The No. 7 Baylor softball team blasted four home runs, including two by senior Chelsi Lake, as the Lady Bears cruised to a 7-2 win over Hofstra in action at the NCAA Hempstead Regional on Saturday. With the victory, Baylor improved to 47-13 on the season while advancing to the NCAA Hempstead Regional championship game.
"I thought we were prepared, very focused, and ready to play." head coach Glenn Moore said. "Ashley (Monceaux) gave us a great spark and we managed to get some big hits and play some good defense. Overall, I was really proud of the way we played today."
Ashley Monceaux got the Lady Bears off to a fast start as the senior went opposite field with a shot over the left field wall to lead-off the contest as Baylor grabbed a 1-0 lead. The home run was the 17th of the season for the senior and marked the second time she has led off a game with a home run this season.
With two outs in the first, Lake made the score 2-0 as the senior catcher drilled a home run well over the center field wall for the second solo shot of the inning.
The score would remain the same until the fourth as Baylor managed to scratch a run across the plate to extend the lead to three. With Danielle Honnette pinch-running for Courtney Oberg after Oberg hit a double, the freshman advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball by the Hofstra catcher to give the Lady Bears a 3-0 lead.
A solo home run by Hofstra in the fifth cut the lead to two; however, Lake responded with a two-out, three-run home run in the bottom of the frame to put the game away. With Kirsten Shortridge and Brette Reagan aboard, Lake hit a towering shot over the left-field wall as Baylor grabbed a comfortable five-run advantage.
The home run was the second of the day for Lake and marked the 24th time in Baylor history a player has hit two home runs in a contest. Lake's blast was her 10th of the season and the 44th of her career.
Kelsey Sage finished the scoring for the Lady Bears with a solo blast in the sixth, her sixth home run of the season, as Baylor would take a 7-1 lead heading into the final inning.
Hofstra would manage only one more run on a solo home run in the seventh; however, as Baylor would advance to the regional finals for the third consecutive season. By winning their first two games, the Lady Bears would have to lose two contests on Sunday in order to fail to advance to the NCAA Super Regional next weekend.
Lisa Ferguson picked up the complete game victory for the Lady Bears after allowing only two runs on five hits while striking out six as she improved to 22-7 on the season.
Kayleigh Lotti took the loss for Hofstra and fell to 23-5 on the season after allowing six runs on five hits in 4.2 innings of work.
Baylor's win over Hofstra snapped the Pride's 16-game winning streak as Lotti saw her 17-game win streak snapped in the loss.
Baylor will return to action on Sunday, May 20, at 11:00 a.m. when the Lady Bears will face the winner of Albany and Hofstra. The Great Danes defeated Harvard, 1-0, on Saturday as the Crimson were eliminated from the Hempstead regional.
Should Baylor drop its first game on Sunday an if necessary game will be played 30 minutes following the end of game one. Sunday's game can be heard in the Waco area on KWGW 104.9 FM and on www.BaylorBears.com.
