Hempstead, N.Y. - The top-seeded Hofstra softball team will host the 2012 Colonial Athletic Association Championship, opening play on Wednesday at 2 p.m. against fourth-seeded Delaware. There is no admission charge for the tournament and the winner will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Live audio and stats for all games at the CAA Championship can be found at GoHofstra.com.

The Pride (35-13, 19-0 CAA) will be aiming for its ninth conference tournament championship in 11 years since joining the league. For the second straight season, Hofstra will oppose Delaware (15-39-1, 8-12 CAA) in the opening round of the tournament. Second-seeded James Madison will face No. 3 Georgia State in the 5 p.m. game.

Hofstra enters with momentum having won 14 straight games and 33 of the last 35 overall. Head coach Bill Edwards' team posted their first undefeated regular season since joining the CAA in 2002 and the first undefeated conference record since 1997 when the team was a member of the America East.

The Pride will be hosting the CAA Tournament as the top seed for the 10th time in the 11-year history of the conference. The only exception was in 2006, when Georgia State finished first by a half-game and hosted the tournament, which the Pride won. By finishing first this season, Hofstra has now won either a regular season or a postseason conference title for 21 years in a row, dating to an East Coast Conference title in 1992.   

Led by All-America candidate Olivia Galati, the Pride's pitching staff remains one of the strengths of the team entering the tournament. The junior pitcher/designated player is 27-5 with a 0.95 ERA, logging 296 strikeouts against just 20 walks in 213 2/3 innings. She has an active 25-game winning streak that is a school record with opponents hitting just .160 off of her. The West Babylon, N.Y. native has not allowed a run in her last four starts and is in the midst of a 31-inning scoreless streak.

Galati is leading the CAA's pitching triple crown race by leading in wins, strikeouts and ERA.

At the plate, Galati is also leading the team in hitting by batting .370 overall and .466 in league games. She has more RBIs (34) than earned runs-allowed in the pitching circle (29) despite throwing more than 200 innings. She has also helped her own cause defensively, handling all 35 chances without an error.

Senior Erin Wade threw a complete-game shutout, throwing a six-hitter to end the regular season with a win over UNCW on Sunday. Wade (8-8) and Galati have helped Hofstra register a collective 1.56 ERA. In conference games, the duo has pitched to a combined 0.85 ERA with CAA opponents hitting just .138 off the staff. By comparison, Hofstra is hitting .339 as a team in league play to out-score the conference, 136-22.

Hofstra went a combined 8-0 against the tournament field with all the victories coming on the road. In the team's three-game sweep at Delaware last month, Galati pitched in all three games, starting two while throwing 13 scoreless innings.

As a team, Hofstra has not allowed a run in the last five games and has thrown shutouts and eight out of the last nine contests. In that span, only a solo home run by Towson prevented the Pride from nine straight shutouts.

Junior Tessa Ziemba and the rest of the Hofstra offense has taken advantage of the exceptional pitching. Ziemba is leading the team with a career-high 11 home runs and 43 RBIs. By hitting .354, she is one of five Hofstra regulars to carry a .300-plus batting average into the tournament, joining Galati, junior outfielder Rachael Senatore (.367), junior shortstop Becca Bigler (.303) and senior third baseman Krista Thorn (.301).

Ziemba leads Hofstra with 43 RBIs. She also leads the league in RBIs and is in the top-five in average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored and total bases.

Hofstra committed 22 fewer errors than its opponents this season in notching a collective .971 fielding percentage. Senior left fielder Michelle Lavagnino has epitomized the Pride's commitment to defense with the veteran outfielder converting all 40 of her chances without making an error.

Behind the plate, senior catcher Courtney Crews has helped guide the pitching staff to its success while also contributing the first two home runs of her four-year career this season. Crews also has shown toughness by rep taking one for the team. She has been hit by a pitch 24 times and led all Division I players in hit-by-pitches per game entering the week.