Boston University's Brandi Shields (Schereville, Ind./Lake Central) has been named America East Player of the Week. Her teammate Rachel Hebert (Humble, Texas/Humble) earns America East Rookie of the Week, while Albany's Casey Halloran (East Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia) and UMBC's Ashley Gray (Pasadena, Md./Northeast/Delaware State) receive America East Co-Pitchers of the Week. The accolades were announced Monday (April 30).
Shields was 10-for-19, knocked in four runs over five games, hit .526 and stole two bases. She broke open the Terriers’ 5-0 win over Maine with a two-run triple in the second inning. Shields was 2-for-4 against UMass with one run scored and one stolen base. She was a perfect 4-for-4 against Hartford in the opening game with two doubles, one run and one RBI. Shields recorded an RBI single in the final game of the series versus Hartford. Shields is the fifth different Terrier to win the honor. Overall, Boston U. players have won player of the week seven weeks this season, while Shields earns the award for the second time this season. She was also player of the week back on April 2.
Halloran posted a 1.47 ERA in four appearances, including three starts and a complete game. The senior hurler tossed a complete-game shutout in the Great Danes’ 5-0 win over Maine, fanning 10 opposing batters and walking two. In the second game of the series, she entered the game in the seventh and struck out two to earn the save. Halloran then struck out another 10 batters in the series finale, going 6.2 innings. She finished with 28 strikeouts across 19.0 innings, holding opposing batters to a .179 average.
Gray posted a perfect 2-0 record with a 1.58 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 17.2 innings. She struck out six and walked two in a complete game five-hit shutout of Stony Brook in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, then pitched three scoreless innings to start the second game. She came back on Sunday to throw a one-hit shutout, with the Seawolves’ lone hit coming in the first inning. She struck out four in the game and picked up her seventh victory against conference opponents, tying a UMBC record for most America East victories in a season.
Hebert saw action in all five games. The freshman first baseman batted .538 (7-for-13). Despite the loss to UMass, Hebert hit a perfect 4-for-4 with an RBI. In Sunday’s rubber match, Hebert’s sacrifice fly to center field drove in one run in the third inning. Hebert is a two-time rookie of the week honoree and won player of the week last week.
TEAM-BY-TEAM
Albany Great Danes
Albany (26-14, 9-8 America East) defeated Vermont, 7-0, on Thursday before heading to Maine for a three-game series... The Great Danes defeated the Black Bears 5-0 in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader and held on for a 4-3 win in the nightcap... Maine recorded an 8-7 come-from-behind victory in the series finale on Sunday... Junior Amber Maisonet (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) led the Great Danes with a .500 average, recording seven hits, scoring seven runs and driving in four more, while also going 3-for-4 in stolen base attempts... Senior hurler Casey Halloran (East Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia) posted a 1.47 ERA in four appearances, going 2-0 with a save... Halloran tossed a complete-game shutout in the Great Danes’ 5-0 win over Maine, fanning 10 opposing batters... She finished the week with 28 strikeouts across 19.0 innings, holding opposing batters to a .179 average... UAlbany will play a non-conference doubleheader at crosstown-rival Siena on Tuesday before hosting Stony Brook in a three-game conference series over the weekend.
Binghamton Bearcats
Binghamton (6-28, 2-15 America East) closes out its 2007 season this weekend against Maine... The Bearcats recorded their biggest win of the season last Wednesday with an 8-7, eight-inning win over UMBC... Sophomore second baseman Patty Egan (Sierra Vista, Ariz/Buena) singled home the winning run with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning... Egan's clutch hit drove in sophomore outfielder Sandy Meadows (Huachuca City, Ariz./Buena) from second base... Meadows drew a one-out walk and stole second base during Egan's at-bat... Earlier in the game, the Bearcats rallied from a 5-0 first-inning deficit to deadlock the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the fourth inning... Senior outfielder Sara Eppolito (Manlius,
N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) drew a bases-loaded walk to cap a three-run second inning and tied the game in the fourth inning with a two-out single.
Boston University Terriers
Boston University (30-11, 14-3 America East) went 3-2 last week to improve to 30-11 overall and 14-3 in America East action... Freshman Rachel Hebert (Humble, Texas/Humble) was the team’s offensive leader batting .538 on 7-for-13 hitting... Seniors Brandi Shields (Schereville, Ind./Lake Central) and Chiya Louie (Seattle, Wash./Ingraham), along with sophomore Christy Leath (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell Central), drove in a team-high four runs... The Terriers outscored their opponents, 26-18, and as a collective whole hit .336... In four appearances, freshman Megan Currier (Torrance, Calif./Torrance) upped her record to 17-3 and is one win away from tying the freshman win record of 18... Currier threw one shutout, allowed just six earned runs and struck out 11 batters... The Terriers need just one win at Vermont to secure the America East regular-season title and home advantage in the conference tournament... On tap for this week are a non-conference doubleheader at cross-town rival Boston College on Wednesday, May 2, and the final regular season series at Vermont on Saturday, May 5, and Sunday, May 6.
Hartford Hawks
Hartford (20-22, 10-7 America East) remained in the hunt for a postseason berth with a pair of conference wins last week... The Hawks earned an 8-1 victory over Stony Brook to start the week, giving them two wins in three games against the Seawolves on the season. Hartford also picked up a win over first-place Boston University during a three-game series over the weekend, as freshman pitcher Brittney Stratton (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) led the team to a 9-1 decision in the second game. BU took the first game 9-1 and the finale by a 7-3 final... Hartford also dropped a non-conference doubleheader against St. Bonaventure during the week... Stratton's record moved to 13-10 on the season. In the win over Boston U. she gave up one run on four hits while striking out five to become the first conference rookie to beat the Terriers this season. Against Stony Brook she gave up one run on three hits and struck out nine, earning her second victory of the season against the Seawolves. She leads the team with a 2.08 ERA and has struck out 161 batters over 158.1 innings... Senior Nikki Thompson (West Seneca, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) tied the school's career record for homers last week with a pair of shots against Stony Brook, the first multi-homer game of her career. She now has 18 career long balls and also tied a career-high with five RBI in the game... Freshman Amanda Dilworth (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) led the Hawks with a .357 batting average for the week. She ranks second on the team on the season with a .307 average... Hartford will close out the regular season this week with a mid-week doubleheader against Central Connecticut State and a weekend series at UMBC. The Hawks need one win against the Retrievers to guarantee themselves a spot in the upcoming America East Championship on May 10-12. Hartford's only appearance in the conference championship came during the 2002 season.
Maine Black Bears
Maine (22-25, 7-10 America East) went 1-3 this past week, including an exciting come-from-behind 8-7 victory over Albany on Sunday at Mike Kessock Field in Orono... Maine spotted the Great Danes a 7-0 lead midway through the fourth inning, but scored a pair of runs in the fourth, three in the fifth and three in the seventh to earn the win... Ashley Waters (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury) blasted a two-run double in the seventh to knot the score at 7-7, and advanced to third and then ultimately scored on a pair of wild pitches... Waters also homored earlier in the game... Freshman Kristen Calvetti (Milford, N.H./Milford) blasted a pair of homers during the weekend series versus Albany... Prior to Sunday’s game, Maine honored its six seniors, including Elizabeth Foltz (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack), Kristie Hawkins (Portland, Maine/Deering), Kate Joseph (Northeast Harbor, Maine/Mount Desert Island H.S.), Alexis Pullen (Augusta, Maine/Maranacook), Marguerite Soule (Pepperell, Mass./St. Bernard’s) and Tara Vilardo (Ticonderoga, N.Y./Ticonderoga H.S.)... The Black Bears will close out the regular season this weekend when they face Binghamton in a three-game series in Vestal, N.Y.
UMBC Retrievers
UMBC(29-14, 12-6 America East) went 3-1 in four America East Conference contests last week, with an 8-7 eight-inning loss at Binghamton on Wednesday and a three-game series sweep at Stony Brook over the weekend... Junior Ashley Gray (Pasadena, Md./Northeast/Delaware State) led the Retrievers to the first victory over the Seawolves, as she went 3-for-4 with a home run and also pitched a five-hit shutout... Senior first baseman Melanie Denischuk (Poway, Calif./Hugh Sutherland (Carstairs, Alberta)/Indian River CC/Auburn) took sole possession of second place on UMBC’s all-time home runs list with the 30th round-tripper of her career in game two... Freshman Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) hit her 11th home run of the season, setting a new Retriever rookie record... UMBC’s 12 America East victories are a new school record, surpassing last season’s 11... Gray improved to 12-6 on the season with a one-hitter in the final game of the series... She tied the school mark for most America East victories with seven... The Retrievers conclude the regular season this weekend with a three-game home series against America East rival Hartford.
Stony Brook Seawolves
Stony Brook (26-17, 10-7 America East) went 2-4 last week... Against Hartford, Marissa Fleury (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) hit her team-leading eighth home run in a 8-1 loss to Hartford... In the first game of a doubleheader against Sacred Heart, Kelly Oberto (Spring Lake Heights, N.J./Manasquan) hit a walk-off home run with one out in the bottom of the eighth to lift the Stony Brook softball team to a 4-3 comeback victory... Alyssa Struzenberg (Cooper City, Fla./Cooper City) was phenomenal in relief of starter Sarah Hoffman (Commack, N.Y./Commack)... Struzenberg went six innings without allowing a hit and struck out 12 for her sixth win of the season... In game two, the Seawolves used a three-run fourth inning to give them the lead... Following a lead off double from Samantha Posey (Nokesville, Va./Briarcliffe), Molly Kestranek (St. Mary's, Ga./Fayetteville-Manilus) reached on error... On the very next pitch, Kestranek stole second... Oberto singled to right driving in Posey for a 2-1 lead... Oberto would steal second during Jade Clare's (Federal Way, Wash./Todd Beamer) at-bat... After a fielder's choice in which Oberto went to third, she scored on a passed ball... Stony Brook would make it 4-1 when Jamie Downer (Glen Cove, N.Y./Glen Cove) tripled home Clare... In game one of a doubleheader against UMBC, UMBC used a three-run first inning in game one to win, 5-0... Ashley Westphal (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) had two hits in game one for Stony Brook... In game two, Stony Brook got as close as 5-3 after four innings. With one out and Molly Kestranek on first, Jamie Downer belted a double to right field... Westphal singled to right scoring Kestranek and Vicki Kavitsky (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) followed with a double, plating Downer and Westphal... In the series finale, Stony Brook fell 2-1 to UMBC on an Amanda Fefel home run... After UMBC scored a run in the top of the first, Stony Brook answered with a run in the bottom of the inning. Ashley Westphal laced a double down the line in left field and was sacrificed over by Vicki Kavitsky... Kelsi Fanelli (Audubon, N.J./Audubon) grounded out to second, scoring Westphal and tying the game at one... Stony Brook is back in action when it hosts Marist on Thursday afternoon in a doubleheader... Prior to game one, seniors Samantha Posey, Christina Voth (Orange, Calif./Luterhan) and Sarah Hoffman (Commack, N.Y./Commack) will be honored in pre-game ceremony... Stony Brook will face Albany in the final regular season games of the season this weekend. Two wins from Stony Brook will clinch a berth in the America East Tournament.
Vermont Catamounts
Vermont (12-26, 5-13 America East) went 3-1 this past week, which included its first three-game sweep over an America East opponent in nearly three years... The Catamounts opened the week with a 7-0 loss at Albany on Thursday... Vermont then took three straight from Binghamton at home, marking the first time since May 8-9, 2004 against UMBC that the Cats have swept a series... Junior Aimee Kern (Wrentham, Mass./King Philip) earned two of the wins in the circle, including the opener as she picked up her third shutout of the season in a 1-0 victory... The Catamounts scored the only run of the game in the fifth when junior Sarah Toczylowski (Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial) knocked in classmate Rachelle Eloschuk (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop Grandin) with a two-out single... The win snapped an 11-game losing streak... Vermont would take the second game 5-3 behind a career-high 12 strikeouts from sophomore Alison Daggett (Fort Collins, Colo./Fort Collins)... Toczylowski hit her fifth round tripper of the season in the contest, tying the UVM single season mark in the process... Kern came back on Sunday to scatter only four hits and earn her second win in as many days as Vermont completed the sweep with a 4-1 win... Junior Elena Rizza (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) had a two-run double in the third that gave the Catamounts a little breathing room... Kern has hit safely in a team-high nine straight games... The Catamounts continue their eight-game homestand on Tuesday when they host Dartmouth for a pair and then wrap up the season by facing Boston University for three starting on Saturday at Archie Post Field.