Sports

Hofstra softball aims high again

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Hofstra’s softball program led off the Larissa Anderson era last year with a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title and is looking for more national waves in 2016.

Anderson took over as coach of the Pride following the retirement of longtime legendary coach Bill Edwards, who won 928 games from 1990-2014 including 22 wins in the NCAA Tournament. She kept the Pride’s recent success going with a 15th conference title in 18 years following an upset of James Madison in the CAA finals.

Hofstra returns 13 players from last year’s 38-14 team and is looking to build upon an NCAA Tournament run that fell one win why of reaching the regional finals.

“It’s always a goal to defend our conference title,” said Anderson, who prior to taking over the program was an assistant coach under Edwards for 13 seasons. “Every Hofstra team wants to put that banner up on the outfield wall.”

Hofstra returns much of its offensive production including all four of last year’s .300 hitters in Caryn Bailey, Chloe Fitzgerald, Kim Smith and Lacey Clark. The Pride’s returnees accounted for 54 of the team’s 56 home runs last year including a CAA-high 16 from Bailey. Sophomores Brittany Allocca and Brielle Pietrafesa both hit three long balls in the early part of the 2016 campaign. 

“We have incredible power,” Anderson said. “There is great upside potential.”

Wantagh High School graduate Christie Sinacori got hits in five of her first 12 at-bats this season for a .417 average. The junior infielder has seen her playing time gradually go up since her debut in 2014, and Anderson is hoping for continued strides from the former All-Conference catcher at Wantagh. “She has worked very hard on her swing,” Anderson said of Sinacori. “She has tremendous work ethic.”

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