CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) and Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) led their softball program UMBC to a perfect 6-0 record last week and have been named America East Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for their efforts. University at Albany's Kate Wambold (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) delivered a key hit for the Great Danes to earn Rookie of the Week accolades.
Fefel, a junior first baseman, earned MVP honors at the UMBC Retriever Classic last weekend and led her team to the tournament title. She batted .588 (10-for-17) on the week with five extra-base hits, six runs scored and six RBI. Fefel also went 3-0 on the mound and held opponents to a .211 average with 13 strikeouts in 15 innings of work.
Weigman, the Most Outstanding Pitcher at UMBC's tournament, went a perfect 3-0 on the hill and allowed just five runs in 23 innings of work. She struck out 26 and walked just six last week. Weigman's top performance of the week came in a 5-1 win over Marist on Sunday when she allowed she allowed just one run on two hits with nine strikeouts in a complete-game effort.
Wambold, a freshman utility player, made the most of limited action last week. She had one hit in three at-bats, a two-run single in a 10-2 win over George Mason Sunday. Wambold, who equaled her season RBI total with one stroke, also scored a run and stole a base in the win over the Colonials.
Weekly Notebook
After its tournament at Winthrop scheduled for March 13-14 was washed out, Albany (11-7) posted a 10-2 road victory over George Mason in its only game of the week on Sunday, March 15 ... Trailing by two runs through four innings, the Great Danes batted around in the fifth to plate five runs and take the lead for good ... UAlbany had nine singles and only one double en route to posting their fifth win over the past six games ... Michelle Connors (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) went 3-for-4 with one run batted in and one run scored ... Kat Smith (Pasadena, Texas/Pasadena Memorial) matched a career high by driving in three runs, while Kristine Bill (Woodland, Calif./Woodland) added two hits, two RBI and two runs scored ... Bill, who finished with eight hits and two runs batted in as a freshman in 2008, has a team-best 12 RBI this year and ranks second with 14 hits ... Leah McIntosh (Whitby, Ontario/Sinclair) surrendered multiple runs for just the first time this season, but she still fanned 15 batters while issuing just one walk on the mound ... She is now 9-0 with an 0.47 ERA ... UAlbany has the week off before facing crosstown-rival Siena in its home opener on Wednesday, March 25 ... The doubleheader is slated to begin at 3 p.m. on Albany Field.
Binghamton (2-6) was off this past week but will return to action with a five-game slate at the UMBC Spring Classic March 21-22.
Boston University (13-6) continued its season-opening road stretch with eight games last week in Florida, where it went 4-4 at the USF Under Armour Showcase ... Throughout the week, the Terriers traded wins with losses and capped it off with a come-from-behind victory over George Washington on Sunday morning with a five-run sixth inning ... Senior Melissa Dubay was an impressive .500 from the batter’s box, connecting on 13 hits ? including one triple ? and driving in six runs ... Sophomore April Setterlund hit .379 with two home runs and two double to go along with seven RBI ... Junior hurler Cassidi Hardy improved to 6-2 in the circle after striking out 12 batters in 5.1 innings of work against George Washington on Sunday afternoon, helping seal the comeback win ... This week, BU will travel to Columbia for a doubleheader on Saturday (March 21) at 1 p.m., and a two-game tilt against Lehigh and St. Joseph’s in Bethlehem, Pa., on Sunday (March 22) beginning at 11 a.m.
Hartford (0-5) went 0-5 at the Stetson Classic ... The Hawks combined to score just two runs in five games, while giving up 24 ... Hartford opened their 2009 campaign with a 7-1 loss to Iowa 7-1 and later dropped a 2-1 decision to Stetson on Friday ... Kristen Cericola (Morton, Pa./Ridley) homered to score the Hawks’ lone run in the first game, while an Ann Kyzer (Boxborough, Mass./Acton-Boxborough Regional) sac-fly in the second game plated Hartford’s final run in five games ... Rookie hurler Siera Sheehan (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Valley) opened her collegiate career on fire against Stetson, holding the Hatters scoreless in the first five innings, allowing two hits while striking out four ... Hartford dropped a doubleheader on Saturday, falling 4-0 to Cornell and 10-0 to Iowa ... On Sunday, the Hawks were blanked by host-team Stetson in a 1-0 loss ... Junior Brittney Stratton (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) took the loss in the circle despite throwing a good game ... She opened the first three innings of the game retiring 11-straight Hatters ... Stratton finished the game giving up one run on five hits while striking out three and walking two ... Hartford will continue action this week with the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla, where the Hawks will open with a doubleheader versus Colgate and St. Peter’s.
Maine (17-13, 0-0 America East) concluded its 2009 spring break trip this past week by going 5-3 in its last eight games ... earlier in the week, Maine's 1-0 win over Sacred Heart ran the Black Bears win streak to 10, which bridged the past two weeks of the Rebel Games in Kissimmee, Fla. ... the Black Bears are 17-13 through their first 30 games this season ... Maine was 1-29 at this same point last season ... Alexis Souhlaris (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) batted .421 this week with a pair of home runs to give her nine on the season ... she also posted a. 789 slugging percentage and was a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts ... Souhlaris was also strong in the pitching circle by going 2-0 with a 0.55 ERA ... it marked the second-consecutive week she went 2-0 with an ERA below 1.00 ... Ashley Waters (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury H.S.) batted .350 during the week, while Kali Burnham (Courtice, Ontario/Trinity College) was .333 at the plate ... Maine returns to action this weekend when it travels to North Smi thfield, R.I. to face Boston College and Bryant University ... Kirstin Allen (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West H.S.) blasted two home runs during the week ... the Black Bears will face BC on Saturday at 2 p.m., and then face Bryant in a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 12 p.m.
UMBC (11-8, 0-0 America East) went a perfect 6-0 last week winning two games apiece against Howard, Marist and Hampton... The top three batters in the Retrievers’ lineup ? sophomore Malorie Weller (Round Hill, Va./Loudoun Valley/Kennesaw State), sophomore Lauren Brummell (Hanover, Va./Hanover) and junior Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) combined to go 7-for-12 with three doubles, seven RBI and five runs scored in a 12-6 victory in the first game of the Howard doubleheader... UMBC won the nightcap, 5-4... The top of the lineup was again lethal in a 9-1 six-inning victory over Hampton on the first day of the UMBC Retriever Classic, as Weller, Brummell, Fefel and sophomore Julia Culotta (Street, Md./North Harford/Tennessee) combined to go 11-for-16 with seven RBI, three doubles, two triples and six runs scored... Weller finished a homer shy of the cycle... Fefel also picked up the victory, allowing just one unearned run on two hits and striking out eight... Sophomore Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) allowed one earned run on six hits and struck out seven in a 5-1 victory over Marist... The Retrievers clubbed four doubles in a 5-2 victory over Marist on the second day of the tournament... Weigman struck out nine batters in the two-hitter... Sophomore Lauren O’Malley (Pasadena, Md./Archbishop Spalding) had a three-run double, while sophomore second baseman Ashleigh Robinson (Manassas Park, Va./Manassas Park) hit an inside-the-park home run in a 14-2 five-inning victory over Hampton... Weigman and Fefel both went 3-0 on the week... Weigman’s 95 strikeouts on the season are already the ninth-best single-season total in school history... Fefel batted a team-best .588 (10-for-17) and slugged 1.059... Weller batted .500 (10-for-20) and slugged .900 with a team-best nine RBI and eight runs scored... The Retrievers host in-state rival Mount St. Mary’s in a doubleheader on March 17, then host the UMBC Spring Classic March 20-22.
Stony Brook (7-3) had the week off... The Seawolves will host their home-opener this week against Yale on Wednesday... The Seawolves will host the Stony Brook Invitational this weekend against Fairfield, Holy Cross and Quinnipiac.
Vermont (2-16) continued its West Coast swing this past week, playing eight games in the state of California, going 1-7 ... The Catamounts won the finale, defeating Colorado State 3-2 on Sunday ... Sophomore Laura Stagliano (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional) had a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift Vermont to a 3-2 victory over Colorado State in the final game of the National Invitational Softball Tournament on Sunday afternoon ... Freshman Rececca Heimbigner (Napa, Calif./New Technology) led the Cats at the plate by hitting .333 last week, while classmate Kellin Haley (Oceanside, Calif./Vista Murrieta) hit .318 ... Stagliano is riding a six-game hitting streak, while Heimbigner went 5-for-8 on the final day of action ... Vermont returns to action on Saturday when it travels to face Delaware State for a three game set ... The Cats will play a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday and then wrap up the series with a single game on Sunday (12 p.m.).