Hofstra’s Sarah Cornell tosses her first college no-hitter
Sarah Cornell, a two-time Newsday Player of the Year out of Clarke High School, will have a major role in the circle as a freshman for Hofstra. Credit: Jonathan Heisler / Hofstra
Sometimes Hofstra’s Sarah Cornell finds the energy to dominate a softball game after she’s given up a hit.
But before facing Elon last Sunday, the freshman had a talk with her teammate about channeling that feeling early.
What followed was seven innings of Elon batters walking back to the dugout. The Long Island high school strikeout record holder (1,345) got her first collegiate no-hitter, striking out nine as the Pride defeated Elon 3-0.
Her teammate, Michaela Transu, has been watching from the dugout during a redshirt season and noticed how aggressive Cornell became after giving up a home run to Stony Brook during her previous start. She told her to focus on starting the game that way.
“I kind of just have to go out there with a positive attitude and just trust that I have the skills to do it,” Cornell said. “She told me to keep up the energy that I had in that inning.”
Cornell threw nine no-hitters at Clarke High School, but facing Division I batters brought a new challenge. She worked on her pitches and found new ways to attack the plate by working the edges instead of going only high and low.
“It’s kind of stressful because you want to strike everyone out now, but the hitters on the D-I level are amazing,” Cornell said.
Cornell is 16-7 with a 2.90 ERA over 152 innings, and everything came together against Elon.
“I think I kind of stepped up my game and I had that attitude of being in high school again and thinking I’m better than the hitter and I’m going to strike everyone out,” she said.
Goldstein dominates
Zach Goldstein (Calhoun) leads Southern New Hampshire in seven offensive categories: runs scored (31), hits (47), triples (T4), walks (29), stolen bases (17) and batting average (.362) and on-base percentage (.503) for players with more than 11 at-bats.
Long Islanders of note
Frankie Moscatiello (Rocky Point) has posted a 1.70 ERA with 64 strikeouts over 53 innings for St. Thomas Aquinas . . . David Palmer (East Islip) is 5-0 with a 1.74 ERA in 46.2 innings for New Haven. He pitched seven innings, allowing five hits and three runs in his latest victory against Saint Rose . . . Tommy Hughes (Longwood) is 10 ground balls shy of tying the Endicott College’s men’s lacrosse record of 728. He’s the Division III active career leader for ground balls and faceoffs . . . Bryan Dragotta (Centereach) took second in the intercollegiate singles championships while bowling for Lindenwood University. He rolled a 199 in the final, falling to Nicholas Pate of Midland (214).
