Hempstead, N.Y. - Sophomore pitcher Olivia Galati (West Babylon, N.Y.) threw two shutouts to take over the national lead with 15, and broke the school records for both wins and strikeouts in a season, as the Hofstra Softball team swept Georgia State 4-0 and 2-0 to clinch the top seed in next week's CAA Tournament on Friday afternoon at Hofstra Softball Stadium.

The wins improve Hofstra's record to 37-11 on the season and 18-1 in the CAA, while Georgia State, which would have earned the right to host with two wins in the three-game series, falls to 32-21 overall and 15-4 in the CAA with the losses. It is the 20th year in a row that Hofstra has won a conference title of some kind (either regular season or postseason) and is the ninth time in the 10 years of the CAA that the Pride will host the conference tournament as the top seed. Hofstra also extended its home win streak to 27 games, second longest in the country behind Missouri's 33, including 17-0 this year.

In the opening game, Galati threw a three-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts and no walks as she tied a school record with her 26th win of the season. She became just the second pitcher in school history to record 300 strikeouts in a season in the second inning, and ended the game with 309, leaving her 10 shy of the school record. In the nightcap, she took the ball again and threw a four-hit shutout, struck out 12 and walked one, as she set a new school record with 27 wins and broke the strikeout record in the seventh inning before finishing with 321.  

The Pride jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Sophomore right fielder Tessa Ziemba (Wilmington, Del.) led off the inning with a double to left field. Galati then hit a slow roller to second base that was mis-handled by Cassie Boese for an error. Boese then tried to flip the ball to first, and the throw rolled away to the Hofstra dugout to allow Ziemba to score. Two outs later, senior shortstop Trisha Dreslinski (Kingsville, Ohio) hit a two-run homer to left field to stretch the lead to 3-0.

Junior left fielder Michelle Lavagnino (Fredericksburg, Va.) ended the top of the third with a diving catch off the bat of designated player Brenna Morrissey, and then led off the bottom of the third with a triple to left. Junior second baseman Jess Hirschbuhl (Jamison, Pa.) then followed with a line drive to left field that was deep enough to score Lavagnino from third for a sacrifice fly and extend the Hofstra lead to 4-0.

Georgia State's best chance to score all day came in the second, when Audrey Mason led off with a triple down the right field line. However, a failed squeeze play left Mason hung up between third and home, and she was tagged out trying to get back to the bag. Galati had a rare inning in the top of the fourth when she struck out four batters, since shortstop Paige Nowacki was able to reach when the third strike eluded catcher Laura Valentino (Smithtown, N.Y.) for a passed ball.

A pair of Hofstra errors in the fifth allowed second baseman Whitney Phillips to reach third base, but Galati left the runner stranded by fanning leadoff batter Jessica Clifton.  She then retired the side in order in the sixth and seventh to finish off her 14th shutout of the season.

In the nightcap, Hofstra jumped ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning on back-to-back two-out singles from senior first baseman Sara Michalowski (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Ziemba, scoring sophomore center fielder Rachael Senatore (Sparta, N.J.). The Pride nearly added another run, but Galati's hard liner to shallow left-center was caught by a diving Clifton to prevent Michalowski from scoring from third.

Galati bounced back in her next at-bat, as she had a double over Clifton's head with one out in the bottom of the fourth, and came around to score on a single to center from Valentino to stretch Hofstra's lead to 2-0.

Galati picked up her tenth strikeout in the sixth inning to tie the single-season school record of 319, set by Kayleigh Lotti in 2007. She then finished off her second shutout of the day with two strikeouts in the seventh, setting a new school record with 321 strikeouts, and breaking the school record for wins in a season with her 27th (27-7).

She also picked up her 15th shutout of the season, which leads the country, one ahead of four others - Blaire Luna of Texas, Toni Paisley of East Carolina, Sara Moulton of Minnesota, and Jessica Simpson of Miami (Ohio).

The two teams will complete their three-game series with a single game tomorrow at 12 noon. It will also be Senior Day for the three members of the Hofstra Softball Class of 2011 - first baseman Sara Michalowski (Philadelphia, Pa.), shortstop Trisha Dreslinski (Kingsville, Ohio), and catcher Laura Valentino (Smithtown, N.Y.)