CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- UMBC's Lauren Brummell (Hanover, Va./Hanover) and Stony Brook University's Alyssa Struzenberg (Cooper, Fla./Cooper City) and Jerrica Kang (Lynwood, Wash./Lynwood) have earned the first America East softball awards of 2010. The awards for the week ending February 21 were announced Monday afternoon.
Brummell, the Player of the Week, earned MVP honors at the season-opening Campus Suites Spartan Classic after batting .455 with five runs scored in four games. The junior second baseman, who slugged .818 on the week with a homer and double, accounted for both of her team's runs in the tournament championship game against host USC Upstate Sunday. Brummell drove in both of UMBC's runs in the 2-1, extra inning victory, leading off the game with a home run and knocking in the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly.
Struzenberg, the Pitcher of the Week, went 2-1 in three starts with a 0.44 earned run average and 23 strikeouts in 16 innings of week. The 2008 America East Pitcher of the Year, Struzenberg fired a five-inning no-hitter against Toledo on Friday. She also earned the victory in a 9-1 win over St. Francis (Pa.) Saturday, allowing just one hit and striking out eight.
Kang, the Rookie of the Week, batted .400 and reached base seven times in 13 plate appearances. Her best game of the week came in the first game against St. Francis Saturday, a 10-8, extra-inning Stony Brook win. The freshman outfielder went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. For the week, she totaled four runs and stole three bases in five attempts.
Team Notes
Albany (0-0), which was chosen to finish first in the America East Conference preseason poll, has 17 letterwinners and eight players who have earned all-conference or all-rookie team honors in their respective careers returning … Senior hurler Leah McIntosh (Whitby, Ontario/Sinclair), one of six seniors on the veteran squad, threw a national-best four perfect games in 2009 and was named the program's fourth America East pitcher of the year in the past seven seasons … A member of the Canadian National Team last summer, McIntosh also landed on the NFCA All-Northeast Region First Team and was an ECAC All-Star selection … Senior catcher Kat Smith (Pasadena, Texas/Pasadena Memorial), who has caught seven no-hitters as a collegian, junior first baseman Gina Mason (Sacramento, Calif./El Camino) and junior utility player Kristine Bill (Woodland, Calif./Woodland) are returning All-America East second-team selections … UAlbany, which has made five consecutive appearances in the conference tournament, opens up its 2010 season at Stetson’s Hatter Classic on Feb. 26-28 … The Great Danes will compete against Boston College, Bethune-Cookman and the host school.
Binghamton (2-3) began its 2010 season by going 2-3 at the Georgia Southern Eagles’ Classic in Statesboro … On the first day BU lost to Lipscomb 5-4 and beat Georgia Southern 6-4 in 10 innings … On the second day BU beat Oakland 5-4, to finish round robin play 2-1 and earn the two seed for the tournament … Later in the day BU lost to Georgia Southern 6-4 and lost the third place game to Oakland on Sunday 4-2 in eight innings … Junior Kelly Schuldt (Lislie, N.Y./Whitney Point) hit a three-run double in the 10th to vault Binghamton to victory and finished the game with four RBI … Junior Deannie Plemon (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge) hit a two-run home run against Oakland in the top of the seventh to give BU a come-from-behind victory on Saturday … Plemon and freshman Jessica Phillips (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) each had two home runs on the weekend … Phillips is leading the team with both a .313 batting average and a .750 slugging percentage … Freshman Rhoda Marsteller (New Park, Pa./Kennard Dale) went 2-1 in the circle … Marsteller won her career debut, pitching 10 innings in a 6-4 win over Georgia Southern … Marsteller struck out 10 batters and allowed only two earned runs … later in the weekend Marsteller picked up her second win by beating Oakland, and pitching 6.2 innings and striking out six … On the week, the freshman had 25 strikeouts in 26.1 innings and allowed only seven earned runs for a 2.39 ERA.
Boston University (0-0) won its first league title since 2003 and
became just the second America East team to reach an NCAA regional final a year
ago. Senior hurler Cassidi Hardy (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter), the Most Outstanding
Player of the conference tournament, won a league-best 27 games and was third
with a 1.58 ERA in earning second-team all-conference honors. Junior April
Setterlund (Torrance, Calif./South Torrance), a first-team all-league outfielder,
ranked second hitting .396 and was third with 110 total bases. Sophomore middle
infielder Emily Roesch (Palm Beach, Fla./Palm Beach Garden),the Rookie of the
Year a season ago, will look to build off a season in which she batted .278
with 20 runs scored and 23 RBI. Shawn Rychcik’s team kicks off 2010 at UNC
Charlotte Green & White Tournament on Feb. 26.
Hartford (0-0) hopes to return to the conference tournament after a
two-year absence. Senior first baseman Ann Kyzer (Boxborough,
Mass./Acton-Boxborough Reg.) is the Hawks’ top returnee at the plate after
batting .294 and driving in 23 last year. Senior hurler Brittney Stratton
(Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville), will try to regain her form of two years ago
when she posted a 1.95 ERA and earned second-team all-conference honors. Todd
Randall’s team doesn’t open its season until March 12 at the Winthrop/adidas
Invitational.
UMBC (3-1) opened the season with a tournament championship at the Campus Suites Spartan Classic… The Retrievers dropped the opener, 3-1, to host USC Upstate on Friday… Junior Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) allowed just two hits and struck out eight but suffered the tough-luck loss… UMBC scored its lone run on an RBI double by senior catcher Amanda Page (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia/Monroe CC)… The Retrievers picked up their first win of the season on Saturday, defeating Eastern Kentucky, 5-3… UMBC scored five runs on seven hits in the first two innings… Senior third baseman Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) hit a sacrifice fly in the first and a three-run homer in the second… It was the 31st home run of her career, giving her sole possession of second place on UMBC’s all-time list… Freshman Heather Brown (Pasadena, Md./Northeast) earned her first career victory, while Fefel picked up her fifth career save, tying UMBC’s all-time record, after retiring seven batters in a row… Weigman tossed a gem in a 5-0 win over Liberty, allowing just four hits and two walks in the complete-game shutout to earn the victory, the seventh shutout of her career… Junior center fielder Julia Culotta (Street, Md./North Harford/Tennessee) drove in UMBC’s first two runs with RBI groundouts… Junior first baseman Malorie Weller (Round Hill, Va./Loudoun Valley/Kennesaw State) went 4-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored… Junior second baseman Lauren Brummell (Hanover, Va./Hanover) drove in both of UMBC’s runs in a 2-1 eight-inning victory over host Upstate in the tournament title game on Sunday… She led off the game with a home run, then drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth with a sacrifice fly… Brown tossed 4.2 scoreless innings of four-hit ball but did not factor into the decision… Weigman picked up the victory after allowing one run in the final 3.1 innings of work… Brummell was named tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by Fefel, Weigman and Weller… At 3-1, UMBC is off to its best start since 2007… With two wins this weekend, Weigman moves into a tie for third place all-time at UMBC with 38 career victories… She already holds UMBC’s career strikeout record, which now stands at 453… The Retrievers have just one game scheduled this week, as they will travel to cross-town rival Towson on Wednesday.
Stony Brook (3-2) opened its 2010 season with a 3-2 record at the Charlotte First Pitch Classic this weekend… the Seawolves lost 1-0 to Charlotte in the Championship game on Sunday… Seniors Alyssa Struzenberg (Cooper City, Fla.) and Casey Jacobs (Davie, Fla.) had strong starts to their seasons… Struzenberg picked up a pair of wins while allowing just one earned run in 16 innings… she threw a five inning no-hitter in the first game of the season… she struck out a total of 23 batters… Jacobs pitched 8.2 innings in two relief appearances and did not allow an earned run… she earned the victory in the Seawolves 10-8 extra-inning win against St. Francis (Pa.) by keeping the Red Flash to just one run in 6.2 innings… Stony Brook’s offense drove in 29 runs, led by sophomore Bernadette Tenuto’s (Audubon, N.J.) seven RBI… she hit her first career home run and hit .500 for the weekend… Sophomore Brijette Martin (New York, N.Y.) and freshman Jerrica Kang (Lynwood, Wash.) both hit .400… senior Vicki Kavitsky (Cherry Hill, N.J.), who went 4-for-5 in steal attempts, became the Seawolves all-time career leader in steals.