CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - A trio of America East softball athletes took home weekly honors on Monday. Maine's Alex Souhlaris (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) was named Player of the Week after excelling both at the plate and on the mound. Albany's Leah McIntosh (Whitby, Ontario/Sinclair) and Boston University's Emily Roesch (Palm Beach Fla./Palm Beach Garden) both repeated as Pitcher and Rookie of the Week, respectively.
Souhlaris, a junior outfielder batted .379 in eight games last wek with 10 runs scored and three RBI. She slugged .690 with three doubles and a pair of homers, including a solo shot accounting for the lone run in the Black Bears' 1-0 win over South Florida, the defending Big East champion. Souhlaris was also 2-0 in three appearances on the mound allowing just one earned run in 15 1/3 innings pitched. In addition to the game-winning homer against the Bulls, she hurled a complete-game five-hit shutout.
McIntosh, a junior right-hander, went 3-0 on the week and hurled her second perfect game of the year. She allowed just one earned run in 19 innings pitched and struck out 29 batters. Her string of 39 straight scoreless innings was snapped in her final outing of the week, but she still registered a 3-1 victory and fanned 10 to just one walk.
Roesch, a freshman utility player, again earned Rookie of the Week honors by making the most of her play time. She had three hits in eight atbats, and a pair of runs driven in. On the season, Roesch is batting .500 (7-for-14) with four RBI.
Team Notebook
Albany (10-7) finished fourth among 19 teams at Georgia Tech’s Buzz Classic over the weekend after posting a 4-1 record ... The Great Danes only finished behind Georgia Tech, Purdue and Austin Peay ... Georgia Tech also posted a 4-1 record in the tournament, but won a five-way tiebreaker based on run differential ... The Great Danes beat Centenary, Jacksonville State, Bowling Green and Akron while losing to Kennesaw State ... With the win over Jacksonville State, last year’s Ohio Valley champion, UAlbany is now 2-2 against 2008 NCAA Tournament teams ... Junior Leah McIntosh (Whitby, Ontario/Sinclair) went 3-0 on the mound, which included pitching her second perfect game of the season and the third overall in the program’s Division I era ... She was named to the all-tournament team ... Sophomore Andrianna Walraven (Thompson Ridge, N.Y./Pine Bush), who entered the weekend without a home run in her career, went yard three times in the five games ... Leading off in the batting order, two of her home runs were game-winning hits ... She also batted .500 and ranked first among Great Dane starters in practically every offensive category ... Five of the Great Danes’ six home runs this season were recorded at Georgia Tech ... In addition to Walraven’s three, Michelle Connors (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) and Meagan Butsch (Tomball, Texas/Tomball) hit back-to-back solo shots in the Akron win ... UAlbany will compete in the Winthrop/adidas Invitational on March 13-14, where the squad will face Brown, USC-Upstate, Ohio and Fairfield ... The team wraps up another southern trip with a single game at George Mason on March 15.
Binghamton (2-6) went 0-4 at the Norfolk State Spartan Clash this weekend ... The Bearcats lost to Norfolk State 4-0, lost to Delaware State 7-3 in eight innings, lost to Colgate 15-6 in five innings and lost to Delaware State in the consolation game 10-2 in six innings ... Junior Shannon McLeese (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Dayton Beach CC) had a 4-for-4 day in the first game against Delaware State ... Sophomore Nicole Constantatos (Commack, N.Y./Commack) was 3-for-3 against Colgate with a home run ... Sophomore Kelly Schuldt ( Lislie, N.Y./Whitney Point) hit a three-run home run against Colgate ... Senior Michelle Olivieri (Conesus, N.Y./Daytona Beach CC) was 3-for-4 in the second game against Delaware State ... Senior Sandy Meadows (Huachuca City, Ariz./Buena) was 8-for-14 (.571) on the weekend and currently has a 10-game hitting steak ... Junior pitcher Cyrilla Suker (Voorheesville, N.Y./UMass Lowell) has 20 strikeouts in 17.2 innings this season ... Binghamton has no games scheduled this week and will return to action with a five-game slate at the UMBC Spring Classic March 21-22.
Boston University softball team improved to 9-2 on the season with a 4-1 weekend at the USF Under Armour Invitational ... Junior hurler Cassidi Hardy (Juptier, Fla./Jupiter) threw her first collegiate no-hitter vs. Western Michigan on Friday afternoon ... Hardy was just one of the Terriers’ pitchers, who have been pitching well, as junior Megan Currier (Torrance, Calif./Torrance) took a perfect game into the fifth inning vs. Connecticut for her third win of the season ... In all, BU’s pitching staff has recorded six straight scoreless games ... Offensively, junior Rachel Hebert (Humble, Texas/Humble) and freshman Emily Roesch (Palm beach, Fla./Palms Beach Garden) both recorded .375 batting averages last weekend ... Senior Melissa Dubay (Auburn, Wash./Auburn Riverside) led with four RBI on four hits ... BU will remain in Clearwater, Fla., for a doubleheader with Central Michigan on Tuesday (March 10) at 11 a.m. and a single game with Ball State on Wednesday (March 11) ... Two days later, it will take part in USF's Under Armour Showcase from March 13-15 ... East Tennessee State, Florida International, Jacksonville, Long Island and George Washington will also be at the showcase.
Maine (12-10, 0-0 America East) has won its last seven games to raise its record to 12-10 on the season ... the Black Bears have been doing it in the pitching circle and at the plate during the seven-game streak ... last week, Alexis Souhlaris (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) was impressive at the plate as she batted .379 with three doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs ... she also posted a .690 slugging percentage and .419 on-base percentage ... she also was spectacular in the pitching circle ... Souhlaris made three appearances and posted a 2-0 record with one save and a 0.46 ERA ... she worked 15.1 innings and gave up just one run while scattering nine hits ... other Black Bears to bat over .300 during the last week, included Terren Hall (Bucksport, Maine/Bucksport H.S.) at .370, Kali Burnham (Courtice, Ontario/Trinity College) at .318 and Kirsten Allen (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West H.S.) at .308 ... Ashley Waters (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury H.S.) tied Souhlaris for team-high honors in home runs during the week with a pair ... in addition to Souhlaris going 2-0 during the week as a pitcher, a pair of hurlers also equaled that mark of 2-0 ... Cayleigh Montano (Las Cruces, N.M./Mayfield H.S.) and Jenna Balent (Conifer, Colo./Conifer H.S.) turned the trick, while Montano posted a 1.02 ERA and Balent notched a 3.23 mark.
UMBC (5-8, 0-0 America East) went 3-2 at last weekend’s UMBC Dawg Pound Tournament... In a 10-2 five-inning victory over Fairleigh Dickinson, junior pitcher Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) picked up her first win of the season, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out six... Fefel also led the Retrievers at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, including a two-run home run... Sophomore center fielder Julia Culotta (Street, Md./North Harford/Tennessee) also homered in the game... In a 4-3 win over Marist, sophomore pitcher Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) went the distance and struck out a career-high 12 batters and allowed no earned runs... Weigman was even better in a 3-0 victory over Big East foe Seton Hall, striking out 11 in a two-hit shutout... Culotta and senior right fielder Krista Kearns (Santa Fe Springs, Calif./Santa Fe) hit back-to-back homers in a 7-6 loss to Drexel...Sophomore left fielder Lynn Pronobis (Waldorf, Md./McDonough) drove in UMBC’s only run in a 6-1 loss to Seton Hall in the championship game... Kearns led the Retrievers at the plate on the weekend, batting .500 (6-for-12) and slugging .833 with four RBI... Fefel went 7-for-17 (.412) with a team-best six RBI, while sophomore first baseman Lauren O’Malley (Pasadena, Md./Archbishop Spalding) went 7-for-16 (.438)... The Retrievers host Howard in a doubleheader on Wednesday, then host Marist and Hampton in the UMBC Retriever Classic on Saturday and Sunday.
Stony Brook (7-3) rebounded from a 0-2 start at the Florida Atlantic University “Miken” Classic to finish the weekend 3-2... In a weekend dominated by pitching, senior Marissa Fleury led the Seawolves with a .308 average, while senior Kelly Oberto knocked in a team-high two RBI... Junior Casey Jacobs was nearly perfect in the circle, pitching 11.1 innings of shutout softball... She allowed just five hits and earned a win and a save in four appearances... She led Stony Brook to a 2-0 victory over Central Michigan on Saturday with a complete game shutout, allowing just four hits... Junior Alyssa Struzenberg racked up 18 strikeouts in 12 innings, going 1-1 over the weekend including a complete game 11-strikeout performance against in a win over Florida Atlantic... Stony Brook has a week off before hosting its home opener on March 18th against Yale.
Vermont took part in the Louisville Slugger Classic hosted by Stanford over the weekend ... The Catamounts went 0-5 at the tournament ... The Catamounts played the host tough twice, falling 6-1 and 3-0, as Stanford entered the weekend ranked fifth in the nation ... Junior Rachelle Boone (Brentwood, Calif./Liberty) led the Cats at the plate on the week, going 4-for-12 with a run scored ... A pair of Catamount freshmen had multiple hit games against Stanford, as Kellin Haley (Oceanside, Calif./Vista Murrieta) went 2-for-3 in the first meeting and Bree Cassidy (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) was 2-for-2 in the final game of the weekend ... Vermont returns to action on Wednesday when it stays in the state of California and takes on San Jose State in doubleheader action starting at 3 p.m. The Catamounts will also take part in the San Jose State Tournament on March 13-15.