The top-seeded Hofstra Softball team will try to win its tenth consecutive conference tournament title when it hosts the 2007 CAA Softball Championship this Thursday-Saturday at Hofstra Softball Stadium.
The Pride finished the regular season with a 37-13 overall record and a 17-3 mark in the CAA, tying it for first place with James Madison. Hofstra held the tiebreaker, though, due to its 2-1 series win over the Dukes back on March 24-25. James Madison (37-14, 17-3 CAA) earned the second seed in the tournament and will face third-seeded Georgia State (32-28, 11-9 CAA) in the second game on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. Hofstra will take on fourth-seeded UNC Wilmington (19-35, 9-12 CAA) at 12 noon.
The regular season co-championship marked the 16th season in a row that Hofstra has won either a regular season or a postseason conference title, dating back to an East Coast Conference championship in 1992. A year ago, the Pride finished second in the CAA regular season for the first time since the league was founded in 2002, but regrouped to win the CAA Tournament at Georgia State. Hofstra has won all five CAA Tournament championships from 2002-06, after winning its last four tournaments in the America East Conference from 1998-2001.
Hofstra enters the CAA Tournament riding a 12-game winning streak, which is actually the second longest streak in the tournament field as James Madison has won its last 18 games. The Pride has allowed more than one run only once over the last 12 games (in a 10-2 win over Drexel) and has not allowed more than four hits in any of those 12 games.
Hofstra is led by sophomore pitcher Kayleigh Lotti (South Attleboro, MA), who comes into the postseason with wins in each of her last 13 decisions, dating back to a 3-1 loss to James Madison on March 25. Her overall record for the season is 19-4 with a 1.37 ERA, while her 269 strikeouts this season (in 194.1 innings) leave her eight shy of the school record set by Erin Phillips in 1996. Lotti ranks in the top 20 in the country in strikeouts per seven innings (9.7), while her ERA ranks her in the top 40 nationally. She also compiled an 11-1 record in CAA games this year with seven shutouts.
Offensively, the Pride is led by senior outfielder Ashley Lane (Westbury, NY), who comes into the postseason far and away the school's all-time leader in both career home runs (40) and RBI (179). Lane is hitting .327 this season with nine home runs and 43 RBI. Sophomore second baseman Casey Fee (Long Beach, NY) is also hitting .327, while leading Hofstra in hits (54), runs scored (45) and stolen bases (12). Junior shortstop Pam Dreslinski (Kingsville, OH) also provides some power with six homers and 33 runs batted in on the season.
James Madison comes into the tournament leading the CAA in both team batting average (.315) and team earned run average (1.62). Senior shortstop Katie George (.371, six homers, 35 RBI) and junior first baseman Jenn Chavez (.404, nine homers, 43 RBI) give the Dukes a pair of dangerous hitters in their line-up. James Madison also has three strong pitchers to use interchangeably in sophomores Jenny Clohan (14-6, 1.23 ERA) and Meredith Felts (14-2, 1.66 ERA) and freshman Branden Moss (8-5, 2.04 ERA). Clohan has also hit .393 with four homers at the plate in CAA games.
Georgia State enters the CAA Tournament with a powerful line-up of its own, compiling a .290 team batting average and 42 home runs as a team. Freshman third baseman Danielle Roddy is hitting a team-high .349, while sophomore center fielder Nichole Griffin and freshman designated player Lily Skelton each have nine homers on the season. Senior second baseman Mary Kathryn Branan has hit .380 with six homers in conference games. Sophomore Madi Gore has been the top pitcher for the Panthers this season, compiling an 18-10 record and a 2.62 ERA, while junior Ashley Cowan has an 11-9 record and a 2.60 ERA.
UNC Wilmington boasts one of the top hitters in the nation in sophomore catcher Carley Hughes, who wrapped up the regular season with a .456 batting average, 18 home runs and 62 RBI, ranking among the nation's leaders in all three categories. Senior third baseman Krista Searle has also had a strong season, compiling a .344 batting average to go along with six home runs. Senior Jess Luckett has been the top pitcher for the Seahawks when healthy (she missed almost a month with an injury mid-season), compiling a 10-12 record and a 3.62 earned run average.
Hofstra will hope that its home field dominance can continue this weekend. The Pride is 18-1 at Hofstra Softball Stadium this year, with the one loss coming to James Madison on March 25. Hofstra is 59-6 all-time at home against CAA opponents, including 13-1 in CAA Tournament games. Dating back to the 2001 season in the America East, the Pride is 69-6 in its 75 home games against conference teams.
The winner of the CAA Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Softball Championship. Hofstra could also make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team this year if it does not earn the CAA's automatic bid, due to a strong non-conference schedule that included wins over Big 10 regular season champion Ohio State, as well as nationally-ranked Georgia Tech and North Carolina State.
2007 Colonial Athletic Association Softball Championship
Thursday-Saturday, May 10-12
HofstraUniversity (Hempstead, NY)
Thursday, May 10
12 p.m. - Game 1 - #1 Hofstra (37-13, 17-3 CAA) vs. #4 UNCW (19-35, 9-12 CAA)
3:30 p.m. - Game 2 - #2 JMU (37-14, 17-3 CAA) vs. #3 Georgia State (32-28, 11-9 CAA)
Friday, May 11
10 a.m. - Game 3 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
12:30 p.m. - Game 4 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
3 p.m. - Game 5 - Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
Saturday, May 12 (Championship Round)
12 p.m. - Game 6 - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
30 min. later - Game 7 - Same two teams (if necessary)
