Clearwater, Fla. - Tessa Ziemba hit three home runs and drove in four runs total in two games and fellow senior Olivia Galati did not allow an earned run in 14 innings as Hofstra split the opening day of the Leadoff Classic, defeating Pacific, 4-0, in the opener before losing, 3-2, to Illinois State in the nightcap.

Hofstra is now 3-4 on the season. Ziemba  hit her third home run of the day to open the score against Illinois State in the bottom of the second. The center fielder hit a solo shot to center off Redbirds starter Taylor Baxter.

Hofstra scored again in the bottom of the fourth when freshman Maggie Hawkins lofted a RBI single down the right field line. The hit scored senior Becca Bigler, who started the inning with a walk and stole second to put herself in scoring position.

Illinois State took the lead in the fifth with three unearned runs. Galati struck out the leadoff  batter and pinch hitter Lindsey Greene reached on a fielding error. Galati induced a foul out to nearly get out of the inning. But  Nichelle Harrison singled with two outs and a throwing error on the play put runners on second and third.

Lauren Keller then hit a two-run single and Jhavon Hamilton recorded a RBI single through the right side to put the Redbirds ahead, 3-2.

In the opener against Pacific, Ziemba hit two home runs and had three RBIs and Galati made the support standup with a one-hit shutout as Hofstra defeated Pacific.

Galati took a perfect game into the seventh before a leadoff single ended her bid for her eighth career no-hitter and third-career perfect game. The West Babylon, N.Y. native still picked up her fifth complete game of the season by striking out seven without allowing a walk. Pacific fell to 6-3.

Ziemba, who tied for the Colonial Athletic Association lead last season with 11 home runs, hit her first two long balls of 2013, including a two-run shot in the top of the second to put Hofstra ahead for good.

The game featured an impressive matchup in the circle with Galati going up against Pacific's Nikki Armagost. Both hurlers were named to the NFCA's Top-50 Player of the Year watch list at the start of the season.

Armagost entered 4-0 with a 0.29 ERA, allowing just one earned run in 24 1/3 innings to start the season. But Hofstra senior third baseman Jess Hirschbuhl worked a leadoff walk in the second and Ziemba brought in two runs with one swing with a blast to center.

Both pitchers exchanged zeros until the sixth when Ziemba hit a two-out home run down the right field line. Hofstra tacked on another insurance run in the seventh when senior D.J. Slugh worked a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Ashley Ainbinder's pinch-hit RBI single down the left field line for the 4-0 cushion.

Galati retired the first 18 batters. The first-team All-America selection last threw a perfect game on May 4 versus UNC Wilmington last season and was bidding for her second seven-inning perfect game of her career (she had a five-inning one against George Mason as a freshman in 2010).

But Megan Hom lined a single up the middle to break up the bid. Galati responded by inducing a line out and, after a fielding error, got Armagost to foul out and struck out Amy Moore to improve to 3-2 on the season.

Hofstra will be back in action on Saturday when the Pride plays Louisiana at Lafayette at 3:30 p.m.