Hempstead, N.Y. -- Hofstra pitcher Olivia Galati (27-7) hurled 14 innings of shutout softball as the Pride locked up the number one seed and right to host the 2011 CAA Tournament with a Friday doubleheader sweep of Georgia State, 4-0 and 2-0.
Galati pitched all 14 innings of the doubleheader, throwing 212 pitches, striking out 23 batters and walking only one, to lead the Pride to the sweep. GSU managed just seven hits in the two games. Galati leads the nation with 15 shutouts this season and upped her season strikeout total to more than 300, setting a new Hofstra single-season record.
GSU pitchers Alana Thomas (8-8) and McCall Langford (13-10) suffered the two losses, but both gave up only one earned run. GSU's defense committed five errors on the day to help four unearned runs cross the plate. Thomas allowed five hits, while Langford allowed seven. Each struck out four batters.
Five GSU batters had one hit each, while freshman Jessica Clifton had two hits in game one.
The Panthers (32-21, 15-4 CAA) and the Pride (37-11, 18-1 CAA) will conclude the series at 12 p.m. on Saturday. Fans can follow the game via live stats or GSU's live blog or listen to Hofstra's student radio broadcast.
GSU will open up the CAA Tournament on Wednesday when they battle the No. 3 seed Towson Tigers at 5 p.m. at Hofstra Softball Stadium. The winner will meet the winner of No.1 Hofstra and No. 4 Delaware in a noon game on Thursday. The loser will head into the loser's bracket.
GAME ONE: Hofstra 4, Georgia State 0
Galati allowed only three hits and struck out 11, as the Pride claimed game one of a doubleheader against Georgia State, 4-0. The Panthers were guilty of three errors that allowed three unearned runs to cross the plate.
All of the Panthers three hits came within the first three innings. In the first inning, Jessica Clifton opened the game with a single, eventually advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt and a ground out. Shortstop Paige Nowacki fell victim to Galati's first strikeout of the game to end the threat.
A momentum changing play occurred in the top of the second for the Panthers. After Audrey Mason opened with a triple to right field to open the inning, GSU attempted a squeeze bunt to get her home. However, batter Tiffany Bess took a pitch without attempting the bunt and Mason was caught trying to advance home as catcher Laura Valentino threw to third and Mason was tagged as she tried to slide back into the base.
The bottom half of the second saw Hofstra capitalize on errors by GSU defenders. After Tess Ziemba doubled down the left field line, Galati stepped up to the plate. She hit a quick grounder to second baseman Cassie Boese, who bobbled it, allowing Galati to make it safely to first. Without realizing first baseman Lauren Jones had stepped away from the bag, Boese attempted to throw to first and the ball flew towards the Hofstra dugout, allowing Ziemba to scamper home for a 1-0 Pride lead.
A pair of strikeouts brought up Trisha Dreslinski, who was hitting just .216 entering the game. Dreslinski worked a 2-2 count and hit a two-run homer over the left field fence to up the lead to 3-0.
In the third inning, GSU had another opportunity to score a run. Clifton bunted a single with two outs, to bring up Brenna Morrissey. The Salem, N.H., native hit a rocket to center field, but Lavagnino sprinted from her position and laid out to make the catch. With two outs, a running Clifton may have scored from first.
Hofstra made the score 4-0 in the third as Jess Hirschbuhl hit a long sac fly that scored Michelle Lavagnino.
GSU's only other real opportunity to plate a run came in the fifth as Hofstra's defense had two errors. After Whitney Phillips reached first on a fielding error by Krista Thorn at third base, she stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Valentino. However, a Clifton strikeout ended the threat.
From there, Galati appeared to get stronger as the game went along as she retired the last seven batters in order. She had four strikeouts in the fourth inning after a passed ball allowed Nowacki to advance to first and she recorded a strikeout in every inning. Galati finished with 11 strikeouts.
The Panthers notched three hits in the game as Clifton had two and Mason had one.
Thomas suffered the hard luck loss, as she allowed just five hits in six innings of work. The Athens, Ga., native allowed only one earned run and no walks, while striking out four.
GAME TWO - Hofstra 2, Georgia State 0
Galati picked up where she left off in game one, going all seven innings and allowing only four hits to pick up her second shutout of the day and 27th win of the season as the Pride prevailed over GSU, 2-0. She struck out 12 batters and walked only one to up her day's total to 23 strikeouts to only one walk.
Hofstra's first run came by benefit of GSU's fourth error of the day. After an error allowed Senatore to reach first safely, Ziemba drove her in with a single through the right side. They added a second run in the fourth on a single by Valentino.
That would be all Galati would need as she allowed for very few Panther scoring chances. The five times GSU reached base on a hit or walk, Galati immediately recorded an out to end the threat.
Galati also had a double and run scored to help herself at the plate.
Morrissey, Jones, Nowacki and Chelsea Sparks each had a hit for GSU. Ziemba and Valentino had the RBI for the Pride.
Langford took the loss despite allowing only one earned run on seven hits in five innings of work. Freshman Kaitlyn Medlam entered in the sixth and offered help as she struck out two batters and had a perfect inning.
