Boston University's Rachel Hebert (Humble, Texas/Humble) has been named America East Player of the Week. Albany's Casey Halloran (East Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia) and Maine's Jessica Ghazali (Waimanalo, Hawaii/University) earn America East Co-Pitchers of the Week, while Hartford's Brittney Stratton (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) receives America East Rookie of the Week. The awards were announced Monday (April 23).
Hebert cracked two game-winning hits against UMBC in a doubleheader sweep on Saturday. In the opening game, provided the Terriers with the game winner on a two-run homer and followed up with a two-hit performance in the second game. The freshman first baseman hit a bases-loaded triple down the right field line that gave Boston U. the early 7-0 lead and the followed up with a sacrifice fly to left field that drove in the game winner in the second game. Hebert added an insurance run with an RBI single up the middle in the sixth inning of game two.
Halloranrecorded a 0.40 ERA with three complete games, while also seeing time in relief. The senior hurler recorded a five-inning no-hitter, the fourth of her career, in an 8-0 win over Hartford on Saturday. For the week, she allowed just one earned run in 17.1 innings, while striking out 24 and walking four.
Ghazali ran her record to 8-2 on the season, including winning the last two games in the series versus Vermont this past weekend. The freshman hurler’s eight wins is the most on the team. Ghazali pitched a complete-game victory in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Vermont.
Stratton won a pair of conference games, hurled three complete games and finished with an ERA of 1.67 last week to lead the Hawks. She picked up her 11th win of the season against Albany on Sunday, scattering six hits over seven innings while striking out three. The win moved her into second place all-time in the school’s single season record book, and she now has the most wins ever by a Hartford freshman. In the first win against Albany, gave up two earned runs on four hits while striking out two. Earlier in the week, took the loss in a 4-1 defeat against Holy Cross but gave up only two earned runs while striking out a career-high 13 batters.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTEBOOKS
Albany Great Danes
UAlbany (21-13, 6-7 America East) posted a 3-2 record last week, sweeping Manhattan in a non-conference doubleheader and recording one win in a conference series with Hartford... The Great Danes defeated the Jaspers 8-0 in five innings in game one and 9-3 in the nightcap... On Saturday, UAlbany dropped the first game of the series with Hartford, 6-3, before posting an 8-0 win in five frames in the second game... The Hawks came away with a 2-1 win in the rubber match on Sunday... America East Co-Pitcher of the Week senior Casey Halloran (East Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia) tossed the fourth no-hitter of her career in the 8-0 win over the Hawks... She finished the week with a 0.40 ERA in 17.1 innings of work, fanning 24 and allowing just one earned run... Junior left fielder Amber Maisonet (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) led the Great Danes with a .562 average, going 9-for-16 with four runs scored and three doubles... Freshman second baseman Michelle Connors (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) batted .417 in five games last week, finishing with four runs scored off of five hits, including her first career grand slam against Hartford... She also drew a team-high three walks and drove in six runs, while going 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts... The Great Danes play host to Vermont on Wednesday for a conference doubleheader before traveling to Maine for an America East series on Saturday and Sunday.
Binghamton Bearcats
Binghamton (5-25, 1-12 America East) has had its game against UMBC, originally scheduled for Wednesday at 2 p.m., moved to Tuesday at 4:15 pm... It will mark just the second time this season that the Bearcats have been at home.
Boston University Terriers
Boston University s(27-9, 11-2 America East) reclaimed first place with a three-game sweep of UMBC over the weekend... With the wins, the Terriers are 2 1/2 games ahead of UMBC in the America East standings and one ahead of Stony Brook... America East Player of the Week Rachel Hebert (Humble, Texas/Humble) was the difference-maker in the series, recording two game-winning hits in Saturday’s doubleheader... Her first was a two-run homer in the fourth of game one and her second came on a sacrifice fly in the fourth of game two... She added and insurance run in the sixth... Sophomore designated hitter Megan Coughlin (Boca Raton, Fla./Olympic Heights) provided the heroics on Sunday, with a solo homer in the bottom of the second, which broke a 1-1 deadlock, to give the Terriers the three-game sweep... Freshman pitcher Megan Currier (Torrance, Calif./Torrance) made it stand pitching her 14th complete game, and allowing no runs after the first inning.
Hartford Hawks
Hartford (18-18, 8-5 America East) went 3-2 last week and picked up a pair of conference wins at Albany over the weekend... The Hawks split a mid-week doubleheader with Holy Cross before taking on the Great Danes in a three-game series... Hartford won the first game 6-3 but was no-hit over five innings in an 8-0 loss in the nightcap... The Hawks bounced back for a 2-1 win in the rubber match, as America East Rookie of the Week Brittney Stratton (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) earned her second victory of the series with a complete-game performance... Stratton went 2-1 for the week and finished with 18 strikeouts and a 1.67 ERA. The two wins over Albany improved her record to 11-8 on the season, the most victories ever by a freshman in school history and the second-most ever in a single season... In the 4-1 loss to Holy Cross, she gave up only two earned runs while striking out a career-high 13 batters... Freshman Amanda Dilworth (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) batted a team-high .467 over five games last week. She drove in the game-winning run in Sunday's win over Albany and went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Saturday's victory... She also went 2-for-3 in each game of the doubleheader against Holy Cross and scored twice in the 10-2 win... Hartford will play a full schedule this week with home contests against Stony Brook, St. Bonaventure and Boston University. The Hawks and Seawolves split a doubleheader earlier this season and will play the final game of the series on Wednesday, April 25 at 3 p.m... Following a Thursday doubleheader with the Bonnies, the Hawks will host the conference-leading Terriers for a three-game weekend series... The series begins with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 28 at 1 p.m.
Maine Black Bears
Maine (21-22, 6-7 America East) ran its win streak to four games on this past weekend with a three-game sweep over Vermont in Burlington, Vt.... Maine won Saturday’s first game 6-1 and then took an 11-3 decision in a shortened six-inning contest after the eight-run rule kicked into effect ... The Black Bears scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh in Sunday’s game to pull off the come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Catamounts ... Freshman outfielder Alexis Souhlaris (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) posted a team-best .667 batting average over the weekend, including a home run, three doubles and a triple ... She drove in a team-best four runs and posted a 1.333 slugging percentage ... Freshman Whitney Spangler (Canton, Ohio/Central Catholic) and senior Ashley Waters (Amesbury, Mass/Amesbury) also homered during the weekend ... Waters’ shot was a grand slam in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader ... America East Co-Pitcher of the Week Jessica Ghazali (Waimanalo, Hawai’i/University) appeared in all three games this weekend and posted a 2-0 record to raise her overall mark to 8-2... Her eight wins this year are most on the team... Also during the weekend, Ghazali posted a 1.05 ERA, allowing just two runs over 13.1 innings pitched... Maine returns to action on Tuesday when the Black Bears play host to Boston University at 2:30 p.m., at Mike Kessock Field... The contest will serve as the 2007 home opener for Maine.
UMBC Retrievers
UMBC (26-13, 13-7 America East) had a tough week, going 2-5 with two victories over Delaware, two losses to Towson and three losses to America East rival Boston U.... The losses to Towson snapped the Retrievers’ 10-game winning streak... The second win over Delaware was the 500th in program history... Junior pitcher Ashley Gray (Pasadena, Md./Northeast/Delaware State) extended her scoreless inning streak to 24 before it was snapped in the fourth inning against the Blue Hens... Gray has not allowed more than two runs in any outing in the month of April, compiling a 0.83 ERA in 59.0 innings of work... The Retrievers dropped a pair of 2-1 games to America East leading Boston University over the weekend, and Gray suffered the loss in both contests... Junior center fielder Kali Shirk (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) is batting a team-best .408 with four home runs, seven doubles, 18 RBI and 16 runs scored in 22 games since returning from injury... Senior shortstop Reilly Ward (Olney, Md./Sherwood) is climbing UMBC’s charts in most hitting categories, and currently ranks second in career doubles (46), home runs (29) and extra-base hits (73)... The Retrievers play four America East games this week, heading to Binghamton on Wednesday to complete a three-game series before traveling to Stony Brook for three crucial games over the weekend.
Stony Brook Seawolves
Stony Brook (24-13, 10-3 America East) went 5-2 in non-conference and conference action last week... Sarah Hoffman (Commack, N.Y./Commack) threw a complete-game one hitter with six strikeouts to help lead Stony Brook to a five inning shutout of Iona, 8-0 in game one of a doubleheader... Hoffman was dominant in game one, allowing just two base runners all game. Stony Brook provided Hoffman with a solid game at the plate... In the fifth inning, Stony Brook broke open the game... After Samantha Posey (Nokesville, Va./Briarcliffe) doubled in Kelsi Fanelli (Audubon, N.J./Audubon) who walked to lead off the inning, Molly Kestranek (St. Mary's, Ga/Fayetteville Manilus), Kelly Oberto (Spring Lake Heights, N.J./Manasquan) and Jade Clare (Federal Way, Wash./Todd Beamer) recorded consecutive walks. Stony Brook took a 5-0 lead after the sequence and a 6-0 after Sara Cerrone (Floral Park, N.Y./Floral Park) was hit by a pitch. Game one would end when Ashley Westphal (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) laced a double just inside the third base line, driving in Oberto and Clare... In game two, Marissa Fleury (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) hit a two-run homer and Kestranek also homered in the bottom of the seventh but the Seawolves fell, 6-4... Kelsi Fanelli drove in Crista Cerrone (Floral Park, N.Y./Floral Park) with the winning run as the Stony Brook softball team topped St. Peter's, 3-2 in 11 innings, in game one of a doubleheader on Thursday... Stony Brook answered the Peahens' run in the ninth when Westphal scored all the way from first on Vicki Kavitsky (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) double to the gap in left... Hoffman was once again spectacular in circle. Hoffman threw all 11 innings, giving up two runs, just one earned... Hoffman allowed no walks and struck out 11 batters for her 10th win of the season... Kestranek went 4-5 for Stony Brook in game one... In game two, Kavitsky had two doubles and Kestranek had two hits in a 7-3 loss to St. Peter's... On Saturday afternoon at University Field, The Seawolves won Game 1, 11-8 and Game 2, 3-2... The Seawolves opened up a 7-0 lead in Game 1 after plating five runs in the bottom half of the third inning. Oberto, Clare, Sara Cerrone and Westphal all drove in runs. The Seawolves took advantage of two passed balls and a Bearcat error in the bottom of the fifth to score three runs and grab an 11-8 lead... Alyssa Struzenberg (Cooper City, Fla./Cooper City) came off the bench and collected her second save of the year having not allowed a run in the final two innings... In Game 2, Kelsi Fanelli delivered the game-winning solo shot in the fifth inning as Stony Brook edged Binghamton, 3-2... Struzenberg continued her solid day in the circle as she threw a complete game, allowing only two runs with 12 strikeouts as the Seawolves completed the sweep. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Samantha Posey hit a sacrifice fly to left center driving in Ashley Westphal from third to help lift the Stony Brook softball team to a 3-2 win and series sweep over Binghamton... Westphal got on base to lead off the seventh on an error by the shortstop... With one out, Kelsi Fanelli singled and Marissa Fleury followed with a walk. Posey's 19th RBI of the season proved the difference in a last at-bat win for Stony Brook... After allowing two runs in the second, Stony Brook starter Sarah Hoffman settled down allowing just a hit and a walk the rest of the way. Hoffman recorded her 12th win of the season... Stony Brook faces Hartford on Wednesday before hosting doubleheaders against Sacred Heart and UMBC.
Vermont Catamounts
Vermont (9-25, 2-12 America East) was swept at home over the weekend by Maine... The Black Bears took the opener 6-1, as the Catamounts lone run came by a solo shot from senior Kate Ramsey (Littleton, N.H./Profile)... The home run was the 10th of Ramsey’s career as she is second all-time at Vermont in long balls... With nine strikeouts in the contest, junior Aimee Kern (Wrentham, Mass./King Philip) passed Katie Quinn ’92 for the career record at Vermont as she now sits in first with 419 all-time... Maine won the second game of the doubleheader 11-3 in six innings, after the Catamounts scored the first three runs of the game... Sophomore Casey Fleming (Townsend, Mass./Lawrence Academy) scored the first run for UVM and then hit a two-run shot in the second inning for her second of the year... On Sunday the Catamounts scored a pair in the fifth to take a 2-1 lead off a RBI groundout from Ramsey and a sacrifice fly from senior Kate DeForge (Norwalk, Conn./The Gunnery)... Maine would score two in the top of the seventh though to pull out the victory ... Vermont returns to action on Wednesday as the Catamounts hit the road to face Albany in a doubleheader starting at 2:00pm ... Wednesday will be the final road games of the season for UVM, as it ends the season with eight straight at home starting with Binghamton this weekend.