Hempstead, NY - The Hofstra Softball program will host its inaugural First Pitch Dinner on Saturday, February 4, at 3 p.m., in the Hofstra University Club (David S. Mack Hall) to celebrate the start of the Pride Softball season and introduce the members of the 2017 team. The event will feature the jersey retirement of all-time greats Ashley Lane '07, Kayleigh Lotti '09 and Olivia Galati '13. In addition, former UCLA coach and National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Hall of Famer Sue Enquist will deliver the keynote address.

Reservations are $100 per person, which includes dinner and complimentary tickets to the Hofstra Men's Basketball game against Drexel at 7 p.m.

"I am very excited about our First Pitch Dinner," said Hofstra Softball Coach Larissa Anderson. "It will be a great event for our student-athletes, as well as fans and friends of the program. Not only does the dinner represent the start of the 2017 season, but having the chance to honor three of our wonderful alums in Ashley, Kayleigh and Olivia makes the day even more special."

The three student-athletes who will have their jerseys retired will join former standouts Crystal Boyd (No. 13), Stacy Jackson (No. 19) and Alicia Smith (No. 23) as the only Pride Softball student-athletes to have their careers commemorated with a jersey retirement.

Ashley Lane '07, who wore No. 19, helped the Pride to four consecutive Colonial Athletic Association titles and NCAA appearances between 2004 and 2007, including trips to the NCAA Regional Finals in 2004 and 2005. Lane was named CAA Rookie of the Year in 2004 and Player of the Year in 2006, in addition to earning all-region honors in all four of her seasons. She holds the program record for career home runs (40) and RBIs (180) and single-season RBIs (63) and ranks second in career doubles (54).

Kayleigh Lotti '09, who wore No. 1, was the Pride's top pitcher en route to three CAA Championships and NCAA Regional appearances between 2006 and 2009. A three-time CAA Pitcher of the Year (2007-09) and four-time all-region selection, Lotti made 122 career starts, good for second all-time in program history, and posted 82 career wins, ranking third all-time. Her 979 career strikeouts, including a then-record 319 during the 2007 season, topped the Hofstra all-time charts at the time of her graduation (now second all-time). She also posted four career no-hitters, which ranks fourth in Pride history.

Olivia Galati '13, also a pitcher for Hofstra who wore No. 2, became the first-ever first-team All-American in program history in 2012. She led the Pride to their first trip to the NCAA Super Regionals that season and finished her career with three CAA Championships and three NCAA Regional appearances. A four-time all-region selection and CAA Pitcher of the Year, she posted a program-record 129 career wins, 1,410 strikeouts, 12 no-hitters and five perfect games. In addition, she holds the single-season records for strikeouts (295), wins (40) and ERA (0.95). Galati also excelled in the classroom and was a first team CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2013. She was also the second overall pick in the 2013 National Pro Fastpitch Draft.

Enquist, who will be delivering the keynote address, holds the record for most NCAA National Championships won as a coach with 11. She served as the head coach of UCLA softball for 27 years, posting a record of 887-175-1 (.835). Her 887 victories made her the winningest active coach in NCAA softball history at the time. Her tenure with the Bruins produced 65 All-Americans and 12 Olympians. Enquist was also named an All-American during her own playing career at UCLA, and became the first and only person to win an NCAA softball title as a student-athlete and head coach. For her contributions to collegiate softball, Enquist has been inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame, Women's Sports Foundation Hall of Fame and NFCA Hall of Fame.

The Pride will open the 2017 season on February 17 in Clearwater, Florida, at the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation Invitational. Hofstra will face Oklahoma State in their first game and also compete against Saint Joseph's, Binghamton, South Florida and Wisconsin in the three-day tournament.

For more information or to register, visit hofstra.edu/firstpitch or contact Shaun Rutherford at (516) 463-4919 or shaun.rutherford@hofstra.edu.