GALATI NEARLY PERFECT AS PRIDE DEFEATS FAIRFIELD 5-0

4/14/2010 10:00:00 PM

Hempstead, NY - Freshman pitcher Olivia Galati (West Babylon, NY) came two outs from a perfect game before settling for a two-hit shutout with 16 strikeouts and no walks as Hofstra defeated Fairfield 5-0 on Wednesday afternoon at Hofstra Softball Stadium.

The win was the 11th in a row for the Pride, which improves to 29-6 overall on the season. Fairfield slips to 15-14 on the year with the loss. Head Coach Bill Edwards also won his 750th career game, improving to 750-357-3 in his 21 seasons at the helm.

Galati came out on fire, striking out the side in order in the first and second innings. She also came up in the bottom of the first with senior center fielder Kris Root (Waynesboro, PA) on second after a hit-by-pitch and a stolen base, and just missed a long home run as her drive curved just outside the left field foul pole. Fairfield starter Sarah Minice then regrouped and got Galati to pop up to end the inning.

The Pride broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning as senior first baseman Michele DePasquale (Waterford, NJ) homered to center field for her team-best sixth round-tripper of the season. It also marked the third game in a row that DePasquale has hit a homer to break a 0-0 tie in the early going, after also doing it yesterday against Marist in the first inning (a two-run shot) and on Sunday against James Madison in the fourth (a solo homer).

Hofstra added an insurance run in the fourth inning as junior third baseman Sara Michalowski (Philadelphia, PA) led off with a single and moved to second on a passed ball. Junior catcher Laura Valentino (Smithtown, NY) sacrificed her over to third, and freshman left fielder Becca Bigler (Bainbridge, PA) followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to plate the Pride's second run.

The Pride added two more runs in the sixth inning as Michalowski led off with a double to right field and came home on a throwing error. Junior second baseman Krista Thorn (Smithtown, NY) had an RBI single to right to make the score 4-0, and DePasquale added an RBI single up the middle to stretch the lead to 5-0.

Fairfield made a bid for a hit in the seventh inning as Kristie Trifiolis ripped a shot back up the middle that took one hop and hit Galati in the mid-section. Galati was able to track the ball down in plenty of time, though, and got Trifiolis by a step. Pinch-hitter Tiffany Lawson then followed with a line drive single to center to break up the perfect game and Meghan Borst followed with a slow roller to shortstop for an infield single. A groundout moved the runners up a base, but Galati struck out Jenna DiBernardo looking to end the game with her 16th strikeout, one shy of her personal high of 17 set on Saturday against James Madison.

Galati won her 13th straight decision to improve to 18-2 on the year and lower her earned run average to below a run (0.98). Michalowski finished 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored for the Pride, while DePasquale was 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBI. Freshman right fielder Tessa Ziemba (Wilmington, DE) had her 11-game hitting streak snapped, the longest for a Hofstra player this season.

Hofstra will next be in action when it travels to face Towson in a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series this weekend, including a doubleheader on Saturday at 12 noon and a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.

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