Hempstead, N.Y. - Hofstra junior pitcher/designated player Olivia Galati was named the 2012 Premier Player of College Softball, Premier Players.com announced today.

Galati won a nearly month-long fan vote, beating out four other national finalists for the award. Other candidates in the field included Florida International's Ashley McClain, Louisiana-Lafayette's Christi Orgeron, Northwestern's Emily Allard and Oregon State's Paige Hall. Galati and Allard were the only non-seniors on the list.

Galati became the program's first-ever first-team All-American selection in May, earning the award from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). She was just the fifth in the prestigious history of the Hofstra softball program to earn a spot on any All-America squad as she was an at-large/pitcher selection.

Galati, who was the 2012 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Pitcher of the Year and was a first team all-conference selection at both pitcher and designated player, compiled 378 strikeouts in 2012 to bring her career total to a program record 1,018. The West Babylon, N.Y. native's 34 wins this season was also a program record and her streak of 32 wins in a row this season fell one win shy of the NCAA single season record

One of the Pride's top hitters as well, Galati was second on the team with a .345 batting average and had four home runs and 37 runs batted in.  She was second on the team in batting average. Galati scored 35 runs and had 58 hits, including 11 doubles.

The Premier Player of College Baseball & Softball trophy is one of four major awards presented by the Premier Players Sports Foundation.