BOSTON— The University at Albany has been chosen as the preseason favorite to win the 2006 America East Softball Championship, according to a vote of the conference's head coaches. The Great Danes received six of a possible eight first-place votes and 62 points overall. Boston University was picked to finish second, receiving two first-place votes and 55 points.Complete Poll
Stony Brook University, last season’s runner-up, was picked to finish third with 45 points, while the University of Maine, the 2005 regular season champion, was chosen to finish in the top half with 35 points in the fourth spot. University of Maryland Baltimore County (26), University of Hartford (23), Binghamton University (22) and University of Vermont (20) round out spots five through eight.
The top four teams in the conference will advance to the America East Championship, held at the number one seed on May 11-13, with the winner of the tournament receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Softball Championship.
The 2005 America East Champion Great Danes (35-14 overall, 17-2 America East) appeared in their first NCAA Tournament to cap off last season’s 35-14 record. The 2003, 2004 and 2005 Coach of the Year Chris Cannata returns six first-team all-conference players, including pitcher Casey Halloran who boasted a 2.25 earned run average and a .238 opposing batting average. Left fielder Amber Maisonet, last season’s Rookie of the Year, returns to the Great Danes after posting a team-leading .346 batting average with 54 hits. Third baseman Kelly Ogden also finished the 2005 campaign with 54 hits, a .344 batting average and a conference-leading 50 runs batted in. Albany adds only one freshman to the lineup after graduating three last spring.
Boston U. (26-19-1, 14-4) head coach Shawn Rychcik welcomes back eight players from last season’s squad and adds seven new faces to the 2006 team. Top returnees for the Terriers are junior pitcher Brittany Detwiler, who was third in the conference in strikeouts with 113, and junior outfielder Chiya Louie, who was third on the team with 35 hits and second with 30 RBIs. As a team, the Terriers had a .270 batting percentage, good for second in the conference and scored 216 runs.
Sixth-year head coach Megan Bryant returns nine upperclassmen and adds five new faces to the 2006 Seawolves (22-35, 10-10) lineup. Stony Brook owned the top pitching in the conference last season as the group combined for a 2.22 ERA. Senior Angela Andrews was a large part of that after ranking third in America East with a 1.93 ERA and fourth in strikeouts with 110. Conference home run leader Hayley Durham will be back in the Seawolves order. Durham finished last season with 17 home runs and 106 total bases.
The Black Bears (16-26, 10-8) return two first-team selections in Sarah Bennis and Brittany Cheney and second-team selection Amy Kuhl. Bennis will be the top pitcher after finishing last season ranked second in the league with a 1.87 ERA and giving up only 43 runs. Cheney leads the Black Bears with a .316 batting averaging, 20 RBIs and a .470 slugging percentage. This will be head coach Stacey Sullivan’s first year at the helm.
UMBC (26-31-1, 7-13) brings back 13 letterwinners from their 2005 campaign. Head coach Joe French will look to Kali Shirk (.333), Dana Shepherd (.318) and Reilly Ward (12 home runs, 39 RBIs) to lead the offense. On the mound, the Retrievers have Lauren Nicholson (2.71 ERA), Amy Sadowl (3.22 ERA) and Jessica Taylor (2.92 ERA).
Hartford (17-18, 8-10) returns three America East All-Conference selections from last season’s team. Junior Briana Hout was a first-team member after having a 2.80 ERA, while center fielder Samantha Morrison and catcher Nikki Thompson were named to the second team. Head coach Todd Randall enters his 10th year with the Hawks.
The Bearcats (12-26, 5-13) lost six letterwinners from a year ago, but add six newcomers for 11th-year head coach Holly Brown. Binghamton’s Katie Hansen finished last season ranked 10th in the conference with a 2.86 ERA.
Vermont (18-21, 5-16) is coming off its most successful season in 10 years. This will be head coach Pam Childs' 21st season with the Catamounts. Junior Kate Haber and sophomore Aimee Kern both earned second-team honors a season ago.