GALATI'S ONE-HITTER HELPS PRIDE SALVAGE SPLIT

3/20/2010 6:00:00 PM

Hempstead, NY - Freshman pitcher Olivia Galati (West Babylon, NY) was four outs from a no-hitter in her debut at Hofstra Softball Stadium before settling for a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts as Hofstra captured a 3-0 win over Connecticut in its second game of the Hofstra Invitational.

In the first game, third baseman Rachel Moeller had four RBI, including a three-run homer in a four-run third inning, as Boston University earned a 9-4 win over Hofstra.

With the split, Hofstra's record moves to 11-4 on the year. Boston University improved to 9-9 after also defeating UConn 6-4 in its second game, while Connecticut falls to 6-12 with the losses.

The second game saw Galati and UConn's Tricia Sullivan get engaged in a pitcher's duel in the first three innings. Galati struck out five straight at one point, including all three Husky batters in the second inning, while Sullivan allowed only a two-out single to DePasquale in the first and a leadoff walk to sophomore catcher Courtney Crews (Stafford, VA) in the third. Thorn also made a solid defensive play for the Pride behind Galati, handling a hot one-hopper from Brittany Duclos leading off the fourth inning.

Hofstra finally broke through with two runs in the fourth, as senior first baseman Michele DePasquale (Waterford, NJ) led off with a walk and was replaced by pinch-runner D.J. Slugh (Marlboro, NJ). Sophomore second baseman Jess Hirschbuhl (Jamison, PA) was then hit by a pitch and Galati sacrificed the runners over. A passed ball allowed Slugh to score, and freshman right fielder Ziemba (Wilmington, DE) ripped a double into the left-center field gap to score Hirschbuhl and stretch the lead to 2-0.

The Pride tacked on another run in the fifth as senior center fielder Kris Root (Waynesboro, NJ) reached on a one-out bunt single and was sacrificed to second by sophomore left fielder Michelle Lavagnino (Fredericksburg, VA). After a passed ball, DePasquale lined a single into center field to push the lead to 3-0.

Galati was four outs from a no-hitter before Brittany Duclos finally broke through with a two-out double in the sixth off the wall in left field. One batter previously, Julianne Towers sent a drive into the left-center field gap that Lavagnino ran down in front of the warning track. Lavagnino tried to make two spectacular defensive plays in a row, but the ball sailed over her outside shoulder and hit off the wall. Galati, though, came right back to strike out Amy DeLuca to end the inning and preserve the shutout.

Galati improves to 6-2 on the year with the win, while picking up her first collegiate shutout, striking out 10 and walking only one. DePasquale was 2-for-2 with an RBI in the nightcap, while Ziemba picked up her third RBI of the afternoon with her fourth-inning double. Sullivan allowed one earned run to take the loss for the Huskies.

In the first game of the day, the Terriers broke open a 1-1 game with a four-run third inning, keyed by a three-run homer from Moeller. Center fielder April Setterlund broke the tie with an RBI double, and after a walk put two runners on base, Moeller hit a fly ball down the left field line that carried over the fence to make the score 5-1.

Hofstra got one run back in the top of the fourth inning as Hirschbuhl led off with a line drive double to right. Senior left fielder Christie Novatin (Farmingdale, NJ) followed with a single up the middle, and Hirschbuhl drew a throw home and held at third, but Novatin was thrown out trying to go to second on the throw. One out later, Ziemba into shallow left-center to score Hirschbuhl and pull the Pride within 5-2.

The Terriers got the run right back in the bottom out of the fourth on a two-out RBI single from catcher Caitlin Rentler after Boston University coaxed a pair of walks. However, the Pride answered again with two runs in the top of the fifth inning, as Root and DePasquale led off with back-to-back singles. After an RBI groundout from junior catcher Laura Valentino (Smithtown, NY), Hirschbuhl tripled into the right-center field gap past the dive of center fielder April Setterlund to make the score 6-4.

Hofstra had a good chance to tie or take the lead in the top of the sixth as it left the bases loaded off of Terrier reliever Kelley Engman, when junior third baseman Sara Michalowski (Philadelphia, PA) hit a sharp grounder on a 3-1 count right to Hebert at short, who flipped the ball to second for the forceout. Rentler then had an RBI single in the sixth inning, her third RBI of the day, and Moeller followed with another RBI single, her fourth RBI of the day. Engman capped off the three-run inning with a lineout to right for a sacrifice fly to give the Terriers a 9-4 lead.

Boston University struck first in the bottom of the first inning, as Rachel Hebert led off with a hit by pitch. One out later, April Setterlund lined a single up the middle to move Hebert to third, and Caitlin Rentler followed with a slow grounder to third. Michalowski came home with the throw, but Hebert slid in safely to score the first run.

Hofstra quickly got the run back in the top of the second inning, as Novatin hit a one-out double to right field. Galati followed with a single up the middle to move Novatin to third. Ziemba then hit a chopper up the middle that was fielded by second baseman Erica Casacci, who stepped on second but Ziemba was able to hustle up the line and beat the double play attempt to allow Novatin to score the tying run.

Ziemba finished 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Hirschbuhl was 2-for-4 with a double, triple and an RBI. Setterlund was 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs scored and an RBI for the Terriers. Sophomore Erin Wade (Taunton, MA) took the loss for Hofstra to fall to 4-2, while Whitney Tuthill went 4.2 innings to get the win for the Terriers and improve to 3-2. Engman picked up the save, throwing 2.1 innings and allowing two hits and no runs.

The second day of the Hofstra Invitational will begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday with Boston University facing Connecticut at 10 a.m. Hofstra and Boston University then play at 12:30 p.m., followed by Hofstra and Connecticut at 3 p.m.

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