Hempstead, N.Y. – Hofstra will look to build on a 6-1 week with a non-conference matchup against St. John's on Thursday at 4 p.m. before facing Delaware in a three-game series this weekend that could potentially place the winner in sole possession of first place in the Colonial Athletic Association.
All four games will be at Hofstra Softball Stadium and can be heard through Pride Zone.
The Pride (24-10, 7-1 CAA) will pit a six-game winning streak against a Red Storm squad that enters the week 9-28-1 and 3-8 against Big East-competition. Hofstra is 31-7-1 in the all-time series against the local rival, including a 3-2 road win last season in Queens.
Following the non-league tune-up, Hofstra will welcome the Blue Hens with a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. Delaware (28-8) has surged to a 9-0 start in the CAA with consecutive sweeps of Drexel, Towson and George Mason. The Blue Hens and James Madison Dukes are both tied for first with 9-0 records while Hofstra is close behind with just one conference loss. JMU will face Mason this weekend.
Hofstra has fared well against Delaware historically, carrying a 55-16 all-time record into the weekend. The Pride defeated the Blue Hens four times in 2012 with a three-game road sweep in the regular season a 2-1 victory in the first round of the CAA Tournament. The series finale on Sunday is scheduled for noon.
Thanks to an all-time week for senior pitcher Olivia Galati and a balanced approaching from a lineup that currently has eight starters batting better than .300. Galati allowed just two hits in an entire three-game sweep when she tossed a perfect game and two one-hitters as Hofstra out-scored Drexel, 29-0, in the road CAA sweep.
Hofstra has now defeated CAA opponents in 29 of the last 30 games and is 37-1 in the last 38 regular season league matchups.
Last week, Galati went 4-1 with a save and allowed just one run in 36 innings. The West Babylon, N.Y. native racked up racked up 62 strikeouts against just four walks and 10 base hits in logging four shutouts. The only run she allowed was an eighth-inning solo home run against Rutgers.
Galati finished with a 0.19 ERA on the week and also hit .333 with three RBIs and four runs scored at the plate. In the circle, she no-hit Marist in a seven-inning game. On Sunday, Galati threw a perfect game in the opener of a doubleheader and tossed a one-hitter in the second game.
Galati extended her program record with 10 career no hitters, including three this year. She has no-hit UNC Wilmington, Marist and Drexel. Both no-hitters against CAA opponents have come on the road. On the season, Galati is 21-9 record with a 1.77 ERA with nine shutouts and 27 complete games.
On offense, three of Hofstra's leading hitters are either freshmen or sophomores. First-year starters Caryn Bailey (.383 average) and first baseman Maggie Hawkins (.351) have combined to scored 30 runs. Bailey, who has started every game in right field, has 28 RBIs in her first 34 career games in giving the bottom of the order a power and on-base threat (.416 OBP) to complement a potent lineup that is batting a collective .318.
Sophomore Erin Trippi caught every Galati pitch last week and continues to make an impact with her bat. The Lyndhurst, N.J. native is hitting .347 and hit two home runs (and tallied six RBIs) to support Galati's perfect game at Drexel on Saturday.
Trippi hit a bases-loaded home run in that game, which marked the second time this season Hofstra recorded a no-hitter and a grand slam in the same game. Jess Hirschbuhl also hit a grand slam in Galati's no-hitter at UNC Wilmington on March 23.
Senior Tessa Ziemba already has set a career high with 12 home runs and leads Hofstra with 33 RBIs. The Wilmington, Del. product has 37 career home runs, which trails only Ashley Lane's career record of 40 set from 2004-07. With 18 regular season games scheduled, Ziemba will also look to challenge Lane's program record of 180 RBIs. Ziemba enters the week with 163.
Freshman Kim Smith has also given Hofstra a lift off the bench. The former Gatorade Softball Player of the Year in Delaware hit her second pinch-hit home run this season at Drexel and is slugging .667 in appearing in all 14 of her games as a reserve.
Hofstra's series versus Delaware will feature two productive offensive teams. Like the Pride, the Blue Hens also have eight starters who are above the .300 batting-threshold. Jessica Grisler leads the group with a .364 average and 31 runs scored. Though the team has just 15 home runs, nine players have double-digit RBI totals for a balanced lineup. Tori Conrad leads Delaware in both RBIs (20) and on-base percentage at .479.
St. John's entered Tuesday looking to snap a five-game losing streak after being swept by Louisville in a Big East series. The Red Storm have been shut out in three of the last five games and has lost four in a row on the road.
