Wilmington, N.C. - Sophomore right fielder Tessa Ziemba (Wilmington, Del.) had a homer and four RBI as the Hofstra Softball team completed a three-game series sweep with a 5-1 win over UNC Wilmington on Sunday afternoon at Boseman Field.
Sophomore pitcher Olivia Galati (West Babylon, N.Y.) earned her 25th win of the season (25-7), one shy of the school record, as the Pride improved to 35-11 on the year and 16-1 in the CAA, leaving it alone in first place one game ahead of Georgia State, which visits Hofstra next weekend. UNC Wilmington slips to 11-42 overall and 3-15 in league play with the loss.
The Pride scored twice in the top of the first inning with the help of two UNCW errors. Sophomore center fielder Rachael Senatore (Sparta, N.J.) beat out an infield single and Michelle Lavagnino (Fredericksburg, Va.) reached when her sacrifice bunt was mishandled.
One out later, senior first baseman Sara Michalowski (Philadelphia, Pa.), who had three homers and seven RBI in the Saturday doubleheader, drew a walk to load the bases. Ziemba then hit a sharp grounder that was misplayed by second baseman Caitlin Cavarra to allow two runners to score.
In the third inning, Michalowski ripped a two-out single to left field and Ziemba followed with a towering homer to right to extend the Pride's lead to 4-0. It was her eighth round-tripper of the season, second on the team behind Michalowski's 12.
Galati had a no-hitter through four innings, but Katie Houmard led off the fifth with a double into the left-center field gap. One out later, Brianna Lofton went the other way for an RBI single to cut the lead to 4-1.
Ziemba drew a bases loaded walk in the top of the seventh for her fourth RBI of the day to close out the scoring. Galati retired the side in the bottom of the seventh, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out eight. She now has 298 strikeouts this year, two shy of becoming the second pitcher in school history to have a 300-strikeout season (and 21 shy of the single-season school record). With one more win, she will tie the school record of 26 which she matched last year after it was originally accomplished by Stacy Jackson (twice) and Jen Smith.
Hofstra will next be in action when it returns home to face Georgia State for a three-game series, including a doubleheader on Friday at 3 p.m. and a single game on Saturday at 12 noon. The winner of that series will host the CAA Tournament on May 11-13. Georgia State would pull even with Hofstra by taking two out of three, and would win the tiebreaker in the process. Just one win from the Pride would mark the 20th year in a row that it has won either a regular season or a postseason conference title.
Saturday will also be Senior Day for Hofstra's three seniors - Michalowski, shortstop Trisha Dreslinski (Kingsville, Ohio) and catcher Laura Valentino (Smithtown, N.Y.).
