By Mark Walters

Entering the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament this week at Hofstra Softball Stadium, Hofstra holds the distinction of the top seed. Unfortunately for opposing teams, that’s not all the Pride boasts.

Senior pitcher Kayleigh Lotti was named the CAA Pitcher of the Year for the third consecutive season, the conference announced recently. On top of that, junior first baseman Michele DePasquale was named CAA Player of the Year, and Pride head coach Bill Edwards took home CAA Coach of the Year honors for the second straight year.

With this year’s regular-season conference crown, it is the 18th consecutive year that Hofstra has won either a regular season or a postseason conference title, all of which have come with Edwards at the helm.

The Pride finished in first place of the CAA with a stellar 14-3 record. Joining Lotti and DePasquale on the All-CAA Team was senior second baseman Casey Fee, her second appearance on the team after earning second-team honors as a sophomore. Senior designated player Joanna Kralowetz and senior outfielders Erika Bernstein and Melissa Hodge were named to the second team. It was their first All-CAA honors.

Lotti has been sensational this season in the circle yet again for the Pride, entering the conference tournament with an 18-7 overall record and a1.29 ERA, including 11-0 with a microscopic 0.27 ERA in CAA games.

Since the start of her sophomore year, she has a 42-2 mark against conference opponents with 25 shutouts. She is a mere 36 strikeouts away from becoming the first player in school history to eclipse 1,000 strikeouts. This was her fourth All-CAA honor.

Depasquale had a school-record 25-game hitting streak last season, and she certainly hasn’t dropped off this year. She leads the Pride with a .370 batting average and 30 RBI. She hit .442 over 17 games during her team’s difficult stretch of games down South, which pitted Hofstra against Arizona, Northwestern, Ohio State and Illinois. She had the most RBI in the conference with 17 and the second-highest batting average, a .421.

The Pride has won its last 11 conference tournaments, an NCAA Division I record for softball, including all seven since the CAA was founded in 2002, as well as the last four America East Conference Tournaments it played in from 1998-2001.

Hofstra got under way in the CAA Tournament Wednesday at noon at home against fourth-seeded James Madison (32-14, 12-8 CAA).