ORONO, MAINE ? America East Pitcher of the Year Casey Halloran was dominant once again as she led No. 2 Albany to victory over No. 4 Boston University, 2-1, on Friday afternoon to advance to the title game of the 2006 America East Softball Championship. The Great Danes await the winner of the Boston University-UMBC semifinal game, which was halted on Friday evening due to darkness at Kessock Field.
The Terriers and Retrievers are tied at 1-1 at the end of four innings of that semifinal contest, which will be resumed on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. The winner will move on to the title event versus Albany. The first of two potential title games is set to get underway at 12 noon. The Great Danes advanced through the winner's bracket and need to win just one game to earn the 2006 conference crown, while their opponent will need to win two games over Albany to secure the title of the four-team, double-elimination tournament.
UMBC advanced to the semifinals versus Boston U. by knocking off host and No. 1 seed Maine, 5-1. The Retrievers led 2-1 in the fourth inning when a two-hour rain delay caused the day's events to get backed up. The game resumed played at approximately 4:30 p.m. and UMBC wasted little time adding to its lead. The Retrievers added three more runs in their final two trips to the plate to come away with a 5-1 victory.
Halloran was spectacular once again in the first game of the day as Albany eased past Boston U., 2-1. The junior right-hander allowed just two hits and one earned run, while striking out nine, in seven innings of work. Through her two games played in the championship, Halloran is 2-0 and has allowed just two hits, one earned run, with two walks and 16 strike outs in 12.0 innings.
The winner of the America East Championship earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.