Hofstra Upsets UCLA In NCAA Regional Opener, 7-2
Los Angeles, Calif. (May 18, 2012) - Junior Olivia Galati struck out 14 and held a potent UCLA
lineup to two runs in a complete-game effort as the Hofstra Softball team
defeated the 12th-overall seed Bruins, 7-2, in the opening round of the NCAA
Los Angeles Regional at Easton Stadium on Friday evening.
Junior Rachael Senatore went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, fellow
junior Becca Bigler went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run
scored and senior Krista Thorn blasted
a long solo home run as Hofstra registered 12 hits against UCLA's Jessica Hall
(19-13).
Hofstra (39-13) will play San
Diego State in the winner's bracket on Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern time. The
Aztecs defeated Florida State, 1-0, in their opening round game. UCLA (36-19)
was 47-3 (.940 winning percentage) in 17 previous Regionals at Easton Stadium
and 55-6 (.903) overall in postseason games before the Pride pulled the upset.
Galati extended her school-record
winning streak to 29 games in improving to 31-5 (the victory total is also a
school record). She also set the Hofstra career strikeout record in the game
and held a UCLA offense that entered with a collective .343 average and .586
slugging percentage to no runs through the first five innings and just nine
hits overall.
Hofstra won for the 38th time in
the last 40 games. It was Hofstra's first NCAA Tournament victory since a 5-2
win over then-No. 14 Oklahoma State in the 2010 Regionals. That game was also
the last time Hofstra defeated a ranked opponent in NCAA Regionals.
Down 7-2 in its last at-bat, UCLA
started the seventh inning with three consecutive singles to load the bases
with nobody out for the second hitter Stephany LaRosa, who homered in her last
at-bat. Galati worked a full count before an eight-pitch at bat concluded
on a called third strike on the outside black off a Galati changeup for the key
first out.
Galati then got Harrison to
strike out looking and forced B.B. Bates to fly out to left to secure the win
and put the Pride in the winner's bracket.
Hofstra scored six straight runs to start the contest, taking that
lead into the bottom of the sixth before LaRosa and Andrea Harrison hit
back-to-back home runs to start the sixth. Galati escaped further damage in the
inning.
Both teams entered with
formidable lineups as 12 combined starters commenced the day with batting averages
better than .300 (five for Hofstra, seven for UCLA). But Galati and Hall
exchanges scoreless innings through the first two innings before Bigler doubled
in a run and scored to give Hofstra a 2-0 edge in the top of the third.
Senior Michelle Lavagnino drew a leadoff walk and advanced to
second on Senatore's well-placed sacrifice bunt. Bigler then plated Lavagnino
with a one-hop double down the left field line to open the scoring.
Bigler advanced to third on a
ground out with two outs, a play that proved to be key when Smith's breaking
ball toTessa Ziemba bounced
away to the backstop, allowing Bigler to score on the wild pitch for the
two-run lead.
Galati responded to the early run support and added another program record to
her ledger in the third, becoming Hofstra's new career strikeout leader when
she got Talee Snow swinging with two outs in the inning to break Kayleigh
Lotti's previous record of 979. Lotti played from 2006-09.
The Pride mounted a sustained
rally in the fourth, getting three consecutive one-out singles to load the
bases against Hall. Lavagnino hit a hard line drive but right at Snow at second
base. But the left-handed hitting Senatore came up with a clutch two-out,
two-strike hit against the southpaw Hall, lacing a hard hit over the
shortstop's head that rolled into the gap to score freshman Erin Trippi and
senior Courtney Crews for a 4-0 Hofstra lead.
The Pride made it a six-run
advantage in the sixth. Crews reached on a single and Lavagnino hit an
opposite-field; two-out single to left. Senatore then used her speed to score
Crews, hitting a slow chopper to second that Snow couldn't field cleanly. It
was ruled a single and a RBI and Bigler followed with a hard-hit single to
center to score Lavagnino from second for a 6-0 advantage.
Galati, who struck out seven of
the first nine UCLA hitters she faced the first time through the order, escaped
a second-and-third, one-out jam in the fourth, forcing Samantha Camuso to fly
out to left on a ball too shallow to allow the runner to tag up. Galati then
struck out Dani Yudin to end the threat with her 10th strikeout on the evening.
That marked Galati's 17th 10-plus strikeout and the sixth straight time she's
reached that plateau.
The matchup featured seven
combined players who were named to the NFCA's All-Region first-teams, including
three from Hofstra and four from UCLA. Galati, Senatore and Ziemba were
Northeast Region selections for the Pride while the Bruins were represented in
the West Region by Harrison, LaRosa, Katie Schroeder and Camuso.
The Pride added another milestone win over UCLA to its history.
Hofstra recorded one of the most memorable wins in the department's history
against UCLA when the Pride defeated the No. 1 Bruins, 10-5, in 2000. That
marked the first win over a national top-ranked opponent in school
history.