Hempstead, N.Y. – Hofstra will start NCAA Tournament play in the Columbus Regional on Friday at 4 p.m. when the Pride takes on Oregon State at Missouri's University Field. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 with live audio also available through 88.7 FM and through Pride Zone.
Hofstra (43-11) is making its 14th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history after winning the Colonial Athletic Association championship. The Pride has won at least two games in every regional in which it has played since 2008, going 8-6 in that span.
Missouri is the No. 6 overall seed (and the host of the regional) and will face Stony Brook in the other first-day game at 7 p.m. with that game also broadcast on ESPN3.
Last season, the Pride advanced to the Super Regionals for the first time in program history. Hofstra, which received 25 votes in the latest NFCA national poll, will carry a RPI ranking of 20 into the contest against the Pac-12 member Beavers. Hofstra and Oregon State have never played against each other.
All four teams in the regional boast a strong ace. In the opening game, Hofstra senior Olivia Galati (37-10) will likely oppose Oregon State's Marina Demore (20-11). Demore carries a 3.03 with five shutouts and 17 complete games. Galati enters the weekend as the Division I leader with 20 shutouts and 374 strikeouts while also tying Hawaii's Kaia Parnaby for the most wins.
In her last seven appearances, Galati is 6-0 with a save with 56 strikeouts and no walks for a 0.17 ERA. In all, Galati has struck out 81 batters since her last walk (April 25 versus LIU). The 2012 NFCA First-Team All-America selection is making a strong bid to earn another selection to the squad, throwing five consecutive shutouts before allowing just one run in a complete-game victory for Hofstra over NCAA Tournament-qualifier James Madison in the CAA championship clincher on Friday.
Galati, who led Division I with 17 shutouts and ERA with 0.95 as a junior, threw every pitch for Hofstra in last year's NCAA Tournament run that featured a win over UCLA and back-to-back victories over San Diego State to win the Los Angeles Regional. The West Babylon, N.Y. native has five of her 12 career no-hitters this season, including three perfect games to give her five career perfectos (which is tied for the most in Division I history).
Oregon State will look to challenge Galati by trotting out a lineup that includes four starters batter better than .300. Leading the way is freshman first baseman Natalie Hampton, who has already set an Oregon State single-season record with 50 RBIs while smashing 15 home runs.
Hofstra also has relied on young players to be key offensive cogs with three freshmen in the starting lineup. Leading the way is Caryn Bailey, who earned first-team All-CAA honors by leading Hofstra in hitting with a .373 average. The right fielder will look to make an impact in her first NCAA Tournament experience and enters with momentum having hit eight home runs with 39 RBIs and a .683 slugging percentage despite hitting primarily in the bottom-third of the order.
Fellow freshman Chloe Fitzgerald has solidified the leadoff spot by hitting .321 with a team-leading eight stolen bases. The Prince Frederick, Md. native hit .455 in the CAA Tournament, earning all-tournament team honors. Freshman first baseman Maggie Hawkins hit .444 in that tournament and is batting .340 on the season in addition to being Hofstra's second pitcher (3-0, 0.53 ERA).
Hofstra has won 13 in a row and 40 of the last 43 games, posting a run differential of plus-203 on the season. Besides the young players, the playoff-tested veterans have given the Pride a balance. After an arm injury cut short Jess Hirschbuhl's season in 2012, the third baseman has come back strong by hitting .345 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs as a fifth-year senior. The medical red-shirt has afforded her a chance to be a reliable middle-of-the-order presence as Hirschbuhl has suited up for all 54 games in earning all-first team accolades.
Senior Tessa Ziemba hasn't missed a beat defensively in switching to centerfield for the injured Rachael Senatore before Opening Day. Ziemba has a team-leading 13 home runs while driving in 45 runs. She is second all-time in Hofstra history for career RBIs (175) and home runs (38).
Sophomore catcher Erin Trippi has caught every pitch this season for Hofstra and has just one passed ball. She has been the backstop for five Galati no-hitters. Besides her defensive prowess, she has built off a successful freshman campaign to earn her second straight CAA All-First team nod by hitting .338 with five home runs and 46 RBIs.
Should Hofstra face Mizzou, the lineup will face a strong challenge in Chelsea Thomas, who is 22-4 with a 1.23 ERA. Thomas, a right-hander, has six shutouts and has combined on additional eight shutouts while holding teams to a .156 batting-average against. She has 205 strikeouts in 170 1/3 innings.
Mizzou is ranked eighth by the NFCA and sixth in the ESPN/USA Softball national polls. The Tigers are 35-11 was finished 15-8 in SEC play. On the season, Hofstra is 1-4 against teams ranked in the top-25 but won the only game against a top-10 opponent when the Pride beat then-No. 5 Texas, 7-2, on March 1. That win against the Longhorns initiated the 40-3 stretch. From that game forward, Galati is 34-3 with a 0.96 ERA while Hofstra is out-hitting teams, .336-.167.
Should Hofstra matchup against Stony Brook, it will mark the first meeting between the Long Island-based schools since 2009. The Seawolves are 35-23 and earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament by winning the America East with two consecutive victories over Albany in the conference tournament.
