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Hofstra University Athletics

Hofstra Softball - 2010 Champs

HOFSTRA OPENS NCAA TOURNAMENT TOMORROW AGAINST OKLAHOMA STATE

5/20/2010 1:00:00 PM

Hempstead, NY - The Hofstra Softball team (43-10) will begin NCAA Tournament play when it travels to Tucson, Arizona and faces Oklahoma State (43-14) in the opening round of the regionals on Friday at 4 p.m. (Pacific time). Arizona, the tenth seed in the tournament, will face Cornell in the other opening round game of the double-elimination regional on Friday.

The Pride will be making its 12th NCAA Tournament appearance, including its seventh in the last eight years, and its tenth in the last 12 years. Hofstra has won at least one game in each of its last eight appearances, while making its deepest run in 2004, when it came one win shy of the Women's College World Series before falling to Stanford in the regional finals (the NCAA Softball Tournament went to the Super Regional format in 2005).

Hofstra earned an automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Tournament by winning the Colonial Athletic Association title last week, defeating Georgia State 3-0 in Friday's championship game on a no-hitter from freshman pitcher Olivia Galati (West Babylon, N.Y.). It was the Pride's 12th conference tournament championship in the last 13 years, after seeing its NCAA-record streak of 11 in a row snapped last spring, when Hofstra did not make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002. The Pride won both the CAA regular season and postseason championships this season, the 19th straight year that it has won a conference title of some kind (either regular season or tournament).

Hofstra enters the NCAA Tournament with a nine-game winning streak and 43 wins on the year, two shy of the school record set two years ago (45-13). Pitching and defense have been the team's calling cards this spring, as Galati enters NCAA play with a 24-6 record, a 1.30 ERA, 280 strikeouts and only 33 walks. She is two shy of the school record for wins in a season, and 39 shy of the school record for strikeouts in a season.

Sophomore pitcher Erin Wade (Taunton, Mass.), meanwhile, enters the NCAA with an 18-4 record, a 2.31 ERA and a 12-game winning streak active, dating back to a loss to Maryland on March 30. Wade was a perfect 7-0 in conference games this season, as well as 2-0 in the conference tournament. Her 12-game win streak is tied for fourth longest in school history, behind Callie Osborne (21), Kayleigh Lotti (17) and Galati's 14-game streak from earlier this year.

Defensively, Hofstra ranks second in the nation in fielding percentage, a thousandth of a point behind East Carolina (.9807 to .9806). The Pride has not committed an error in the last eight games, its second eight-game errorless streak in the last month. In fact, over the second half of the season (April/May), Hofstra has committed only seven errors, giving it a remarkable .991 fielding percentage in that span (29 games).

Offensively, the Pride has another impressive streak active, as senior center fielder Kris Root (Waynesboro, Pa.) has an 18-game hitting streak heading into the NCAA Tournament, tied for the second longest in school history. Root has hit .550 in the last 18 games (33-60) and had a streak of seven straight multi-hit games ended in the CAA title game, when she was 1-for-4. Root is hitting a team-high .374 on the year, and also is 14-14 stealing bases this season, while her 52 career stolen bases is three shy of the school record (she already holds the single-season record with 26 in 2008).

The school record for the longest hitting streak is actually held by Root's classmate, senior first baseman Michele DePasquale (Waterford, N.J.), who tallied a 15-game streak as a sophomore in 2008. This year, DePasquale is hitting .351 with nine home runs and 38 RBI, which is tied for the team lead with freshman outfielder Tessa Ziemba (Wilmington, Del.). DePasquale also became only the ninth player in school history with 200 career hits in the CAA Tournament (she now has 202) and is one of only 14 players with 100 career RBI (she now has 106). All nine of her homers have come since March 30, after she hit only four in her first three and a half seasons.

Ziemba, who has a team-high 12 doubles and five homers to go with her 38 RBI, is four shy of the school record for RBI by a freshman, held by Ashley Lane (2004). Junior third baseman Sara Michalowski (Philadelphia, Pa.) is hitting .308 with seven homers and 31 RBI, while sophomore second baseman Jess Hirschbuhl (Jamison, Pa.) is .304 with two homers and 19 RBI, including a walk-off grand slam in the Pride's 7-3 opening round win over Towson in the CAA Tournament. Freshman designated player Rachael Senatore (Sparta, N.J.) has also provided an offensive spark in the second half of the season, batting .313.   

Arizona traveled to Hofstra for an NCAA Regional in 2008. The Wildcats, led by senior pitcher Taryne Mowatt, shut out Hofstra 5-0 in the regional finals to advance to the Super Regionals in the last NCAA Tournament game the Pride played in.  

Oklahoma State is led by sophomore first baseman Julie Ward, who has 10 homers and 52 RBI on the year. Freshman Kat Espinoza is 19-5 with a 1.53 ERA in the circle, while senior Anna Whiddon is 21-7 with a 2.21 ERA. Hofstra assistant coach Ryan Realmuto is a former All-Big 12 catcher (four times) at Oklahoma State, where she graduated in 2003.

The Tucson double-elimination regional will take place from Friday-Sunday. The winner will advance to the NCAA Super Regionals against the winner of the regional taking place in Austin, Texas.  
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