Hempstead, N.Y. – Hofstra will look to continue both its strong start in conference play and build on an 11-game winning streak when the Pride ventures to Fairfax, Va. to face George Mason in a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series beginning with a noon doubleheader on Saturday.
After sweeping Big East-member Seton Hall on the road on Tuesday, Hofstra (29-10 overall) enters the road trip in sole possession of second place with a 10-1 CAA record, trailing only James Madison (12-0) in the standings.
The Pride has lost just once in April and has not lost away from Hofstra Softball Stadium since March 1, winning 13 consecutive road games. George Mason (14-30, 2-10 CAA) swept UMES in a home doubleheader on Wednesday. In league action, the Patriots have been swept by Delaware and JMU in back-to-back weeks. George Mason took two of three against UNC Wilmington to account for its only conference victories of the season.
Hofstra is 29-2 against George Mason in the all-time series. The Pride posted a three-game home sweep against the Patriots last season, winning two games in five innings via the run rule. Hofstra out-scored Mason, 29-6, in the series.
In league games, Hofstra has out-hit opponents, .365-.112. The Pride has out-scored league foes, 80-12. That plus-68 differential has been a product of Hofstra slugging a collective .652 against conference pitching.
Senior Olivia Galati has thrown every pitch for Hofstra in CAA games this season, going 10-1 with a 1.10 ERA and five shutouts. Galati (25-9, 1.65 ERA overall) has 107 strikeouts in 70 innings in league games and has fanned 272 in 217 innings on the season.
Galati already has three no-hitters this season, including a perfect game against Drexel. That marked her third career perfect game, which places her in third place all-time in the NCAA Division I record books. Only Trinity Johnson's four perfect games for South Carolina from 1995-97 and Fordham's Jen Mineau's five perfect games from 2009-12 are more.
Eight of head coach Bill Edwards' everyday players are batting better than .300 to provide offensive support. Hofstra has hit home runs at a record-setting pace. Though 39 games, Hofstra has hit 48 home runs, which is already the third-highest single-season total in team history. The program record is 50, set by the 2003 squad. The 2006 squad hit 49 home runs.
Sophomore catcher Erin Trippi continues to fill an important role in the middle of the lineup in addition to handing the pitching staff. Trippi had four RBIs in the second game of Hofstra's sweep over the Pirates. As a backstop, she caught Galati's 31 complete game and 11th shutout in Game 1 and guided freshman Maggie Hawkins to a victory in her first career start in Game 2.
Hawkins, who has emerged as Hofstra's starting first baseman, had logged just one inning as a reliever before getting the start at Seton Hall. Hawkins allowed just one run in 4 1/3 innings. Galati picked up the last two outs to secure a 9-1 victory in five innings. As a batter, Hawkins is Hofstra's second-leading hitting at .349, which trails only fellow freshman Caryn Bailey's .402 average.
Hofstra received a vote in the NFCA national poll on Tuesday. The Pride has a RPI of 31, which is 12 places higher than the next-closest team in James Madison.
