Hempstead, N.Y. – Hofstra will look to stay sharp for Colonial Athletic Association action by playing back-to-back non-conference doubleheaders at home this week, starting with a twin-bill against Rutgers on Wednesday at 4 p.m. from Hofstra Softball Stadium.
The Pride will then host Marist for a home doubleheader on Thursday at 4 p.m. under the lights on its home field. Both of Hofstra's games against Rutgers will be broadcasted on WRHU (88.7 FM) and all four games can also be heard through Pride Zone.
Following a CAA series victory over Georgia State, Hofstra (18-9, 4-1 in league play) enters the week with wins in 15 of the last 16 games while out-scoring opponents, 116-30, in that span. Rutgers enters 18-12 and 3-3 in the Big East after taking two-of-three from UConn. The Scarlet Knights are led by two pitchers with sub- 2.20 ERAs as ace Alyssa Landrith (10-8, 1.93 ERA) and Dresden Maddox (6-1, 2.18 ERA) could both get starts against the Pride.
Last season, Hofstra swept a road doubleheader at Rutgers by an aggregate 16-2 score. The Pride is 23-6 all-time against the Scarlet Knights and has won 10 consecutive games against the Piscataway, N.J.-based squad.
A short turnaround will then bring Marist to Long Island with the Red Foxes (8-12) having won two of the last three. The Pride is 11-1 in the all-time series.
Seven Hofstra starters enter the week with batting averages that exceed .300. Two freshmen top that list in rightfielder Caryn Bailey and first baseman Maggie Hawkins. Bailey's .376 average is pacing the squad and her 23 RBIs trails only Tessa Ziemba's mark by two for the team lead. Hawkins is batting .365 with a .413 on-base percentage.
Sophomore catcher Erin Trippi was Hofstra's most locked-in hitter last week with the backstop batting .462 with three home runs, seven RBIs and a 1.154 slugging percentage in catching every inning of the Pride's 5-1 week.
Trippi hit home runs in both ends of a doubleheader against the Panthers while also helping senior ace Olivia Galati record four games of double digit strikeouts in her five starts. Trippi, who threw out one-of-two potential base-stealers, also caught freshman Victoria Cabral when she pitched a complete-game shutout in her first collegiate start at Lehigh.
Galati has found a comfort zone with Trippi that has produced similar results as the 2012 campaign in which she earned first-team All-America honors in throwing predominately to Courtney Crews. Last week, Galati went 4-1 with a 1.60 ERA in logging 45 strikeouts in 35 innings. For the season, Galati is 17-8 with a 2.13 ERA to go along with five shutouts and 22 complete games (including a no-hitter at UNC Wilmington).
In 2012, Galati led all of NCA Division I in ERA and shutouts. This season, Galati's 178 strikeouts has her sixth in the country and the West Babylon, N.Y. native's 0.91 walks-per-seven innings figures is also the sixth-lowest.
Hofstra entered Tuesday with a RPI rank of 30, which was 11 spots higher than the next-closest CAA team in James Madison.
