PHILADELPHIA – The Holy Family University softball team opened its season at 2023 World Series participant No. 17 East Stroudsburg on Wednesday, hanging tough with the Warriors in 1-6 and 3-5 losses.
Down 3-5 in the nightcap, the Tigers loaded the bases with two away in the sixth to no avail.
Individual Highlights
- Lily Hoban (Millsboro, Del./Indian River) went 2-for-3 with two runs, a home run and a double in her collegiate debut in game two
- Rylee Hobel (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) had a hit and an RBI in both games
- Sam Ciasullo (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) also homered in the nightcap to move into a tie for ninth in program history with 13 for her career
- Jaden Kelly (West Deptford, N.J./West Deptford), Molly Moore (Conshohocken, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh), Lindsey Gorka (Levittown, Pa./Neshaminy) and Kinsley Hall (Frankford, Del./Indian River (Mount Olive)) made their collegiate debuts too
- Kelly scored the Tigers' game one run following a single
- Moore threw two innings of relief in the opener before collecting her first career hit in the nightcap
- Hall threw two innings of scoreless relief in game two
Inside the Box Score
- Holy Family outhit the Warriors 8-6 in the nightcap
How it Happened
First Game
- A two-run homer in the bottom of the second was the only scoring through the first four frames, despite HFU threatening to cut into the deficit following a Madison Grubb (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway) leadoff walk in the fourth
- East Stroudsburg broke the game open with a four-run sixth, which featured three unearned runs
- The Tigers got on the board via a Hobel sixth-inning single, which drove in Kelly after she had singled and stole second
Second Game
- After East Stroudsburg plated two unearned runs in the second, it was Hobel cutting the deficit in half with a sacrifice fly in the third that scored Hoban after she had doubled
- Holy Family had a runner thrown out at the plate on the previous play
- The Warriors came right back with two more runs in the bottom-half though, before adding another in the fifth
- Hoban's homer came with two outs in the fifth, while Ciasullo launched hers to begin the sixth
- Moore and Alexis Letizia (Toms River, N.J./Donovan Catholic) followed with back-to-back singles, and the Tigers later loaded the bases on a Gabrielle Wiley (Willow Grove, Pa./Upper Moreland) walk with two away, but a strikeout ended the threat
- Holy Family could not bring the tying run to the plkate in the seventh
Up Next
The Tigers begin a busy weekend hosting another 2023 NCAA Tournament participant, West Chester, for its home-opener at Bensalem High School this Saturday at 12 p.m.
