CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Stony Brook University and Boston University each captured America East softball series last week and have been rewarded with weekly honors. The Seawolves' Vicki Kavitsky (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and Alyssa Struzenberg (Cooper City, Fla./Cooper City) were named Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, while the Terriers' Taylor Cowan (Columbia, Mo.) took home Rookie of the Week accolades. The awards for the week ending April 11 were announced Monday afternoon.
Kavitsky, a senior shortstop, batted .533 with three extra-base hits, seven runs scored and seven RBI in leading Stony Brook to five wins last week. In a three-game sweep over Hartford over the weekend, Kavitsky went 6-for-10 with a pair of home runs, drove in six and scored five runs. The reigning all-league shortstop, she ranks second among league leaders with a .407 batting average.
Struzenberg, a senior right-hander, went 3-0 with a 0.74 ERA in 19 innings of work last week. She allowed just seven hits while racking up 29 strikeouts. The 2008 America East Pitcher of the Year and a first-team choice last season, Struzenberg's best outing of the weekend came via a three-hit shutout in the series finale against the Hawks in which she walked just one and fanned 13. She is tied for the league lead with 12 wins and a 1.41 ERA and also has a conference-best 144 strikeouts.
Cowan, a freshman utility player, batted .357 with a pair of runs scored and three RBI in five games last week. Cowan's best effort came in an 11-0 win over Albany Saturday, as she had two run-scoring hits.
Team Notes
Albany (13-14, AE 5-4) played all five of its games last week against teams that participated in the 2009 NCAA Tournament … The Great Danes dropped both ends of a doubleheader at Cornell by 3-1 and 8-4 decisions on April 7… The team also recorded one America East win in a three-game set at home against Boston University on April 10-11 … The Great Danes fell by scores of 4-3 and 11-0 in a doubleheader on the first day before rallying from two runs down to win by a 4-3 decision in the series finale and finish the week with a 1-4 ledger … UAlbany has come from behind in four of its five America East wins this season … pitcher Marissa Powell (Midlothian, Texas/Midlothian) posted her fourth victory in the series finale after not surrendering an earned run in the last six innings … The senior is 3-1 overall, and has also picked up one save, in America East action and is boasting a 2.85 earned run average against league opponents … Jessica Bergin (New Windsor, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) paced the UAlbany offense by going 6-for-11 with four doubles and three RBIs in the five games … She recorded what would later stand as the game-winning hit to cap a three-run fourth inning in the Great Danes’ come-from-behind win over Boston U. to halt a five-game skid … Bergin’s timely single in the series’ final game against the Terriers came after Michelle Connors (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) and Gina Mason (Sacramento, Calif./El Camino) hit back-to-back home runs earlier in the inning to spark the rally … Bergin, a junior who entered the 2010 season as a .249 career hitter, ended the week with a .304 batting average to go along with a .507 slugging percentage this spring … Over half of her 21 hits have been for extra bases, which includes nine doubles … Mason is leading the squad in several offensive categories, including batting average (.389), home runs (5), RBIs (22), hits (28), slugging percentage (.639) and on-base percentage (.465) … Four of her five home runs have come in the last 10 games … Connors, who went 2-for-3 in the Boston U. win, hit her 32nd career double in the fifth inning to move into a tie for second on the all-time list with Maegan Larsen ... She needs seven more to eclipse the record of 38, which is currently held by Kelly Ogden … The Great Danes will travel to Manhattan for a non-conference doubleheader on April 13 at 3 p.m. … UAlbany returns to America East play and hosts Maine at Albany Field … The teams will play a doubleheader on April 17, beginning at 1 p.m., and a single game on April 18 at 12 p.m. … The Great Danes’ seven seniors will be honored prior to the series finale.
Binghamton’s (15-11, AE 3-6) 2010 resurgence was slowed this past weekend as Maine swept a three-game conference set from the Bearcats … BU was shutout twice on Saturday by scores of 4-0, 4-0 …Maine also won the finale on Sunday by a score of 3-2 … On the week, Stephanie DeLuca (Yonkers, N.Y./Ursuline) led BU with a .571 batting average (4-for-7) … DeLuca continues her strong play after winning her first conference player of the week award last week … Over the team’s last eight games, DeLuca has raised her batting average from .229 to .329, and leads the team in the category on the year … She is also on an eight-game hitting streak … Junior Deannie Plemon (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge) batted .333 on the week with an RBI … Plemon leads the team in RBI on the season with 24 … Senior Shannon McLeese (Fort Lauderdale, Fla/Daytona Beach CC) has a team-high nine sacrifices on the year and was ranked sixth in the nation in the category last week … This week BU will host a doubleheader with Niagara and will look to rebound in conference play with three games at home against Hartford Friday-Saturday.
Following two tough non-conference losses to No. 22 Massachusetts and Big East foe Connecticut, the Boston University (20-13, AE 5-1) rebounded with a 2-1 weekend at Albany. BU swept the doubleheader on Saturday with the Great Danes with a 4-3 and 11-0 victory, respectively … In BU's 11-0 rout, freshman Taylor Cowan (Columbia, Mo./Hickman) drove in three runs off two hits, while four Terriers recorded multiple hits … In the team's one-run victory on Saturday sophomore Erica Casacci (Plantation, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) led the way with two hits and two RBIs … On Sunday, BU led 3-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth when UA rallied for three runs to claim the come-from-behind win. Earlier in the week, BU dropped a 3-0 decision to nationally-ranked UMass and a 10-9 heartbreaker to UConn. Junior April Setterlund (Torrance, Calif./South Torrance) drove in five runs over five games to tie a single-season RBI record of 44. BU will rematch with UMass this Tuesday at 5 p.m. at BU Softball Field before hosting Bryant on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Over the weekend, the Terriers will head down to Baltimore for a three-game series with UMBC.
Hartford (13-11, AE 2-7) swept Siena in a doubleheader on Wednesday (4-1, 9-3) before dropping three-straight games on the road to Stony Brook during the weekend … Brittney Stratton (Statten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) and Siera Sheehan (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Valley) put together a pair of complete games to help the Hawks to the mid-week sweep … Hartford never trailed in the twinbill with the Saints … Rookie Jordan Haines (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Marion Area) launched her first career grand slam over the left center field fence to wrap up the Hawks’ scoring and boost its lead to 9-2 in game two … She finished 3-for-4 at the plate and knocked in five runs while scoring once … The Hawks fell to Stony Brook 7-2 in game one before the Seawolves blanked the Hawks 8-0 and 6-0 in the series’ final two games on Saturday and Sunday… Hartford combined for just eight hits off Stony Brook’s hurlers Alyssa Struzenberg and Casey Jacobs … Jacobs constructed a two-hit, five inning shutout on Saturday before Struzenberg blanked the Hawks 6-0 on Sunday … Amanda Dilworth (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) notched four hits to lead the Hawks in the series … Hartford returns to the UH Softball Field with a doubleheader against the Rhode Island Rams on Wednesday, April 14 before resuming America East play with a three-game series at Binghamton.
Maine (16-20, AE 5-1) moved into a tie for first place after sweeping Binghamton this past weekend… The Black Bears swept the Bearcats with wins of 4-0, 4-0 and 3-2. Alexis Souhlaris picked up two wins on the mound and was a force on the basepaths, stealing three bases and scoring four runs… Ashley Kelley earned the win in the series opener after throwing a complete game shutout… She held the Bearcats to five hits while striking out five batters… Souhlaris became the Black Bears all-time hits leader in Saturday’s doubleheader and tied for the all-time runs scored mark on Sunday… Terren Hall is tied with Souhlaris with 14 multi-hit games, while Whitney Spangler is third on the team with 12… Hall leads the team in multi-RBI games with eight… UMaine will take on Albany this weekend.
UMBC (18-16, AE 1-5) split four home games last week… Senior Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) allowed just one hit and struck out a season-high seven batters in a 2-0 victory over Georgetown on April 6… It was UMBC’s first shutout since Feb. 20, and it was Fefel’s first shutout since April 2, 2009… Junior designated player Lauren O’Malley (Pasadena, Md./Archbishop Spalding) and senior catcher Amanda Page (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia/Monroe CC) combined for five of UMBC’s seven hits against the Hoyas… Not to be outdone, junior Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) tossed a one-hitter the next day, as the Retrievers blanked Coppin State, 2-0… Weigman struck out a career-high 15 batters, including the first six of the game, and did not allow a hit until there were two outs in the fifth… It was the first time UMBC recorded back-to-back shutouts since blanking Hartford in both games of a doubleheader on March 30, 2008… Sophomore left fielder Kaela Mason (Bel Air, Md./Harford Tech) hit a solo home run in the second inning to give UMBC the lead… The Retrievers were swept by Longwood in a doubleheader on April 10 but identical 5-1 scores… Fefel became the eighth player in UMBC history to collect 200 career hits with a single in the first inning of game one… Senior right fielder Emily Thompson (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) had four hits on the day, including an RBI double in the first game… Weigman fanned 14 batters in 10.1 innings of work… The Retrievers host La Salle and Coppin State in midweek contests before returning to America East action against defending conference champion Boston University this weekend.
Stony Brook (18-11, AE 6-3) went 5-0 on the week including a weekend sweep of Hartford… SBU started the week off with a pair of near no-hitters against Lafayette… senior Alyssa Struzenberg had a no-hitter with two outs in the fifth and final inning before the Leopards recorded a single… junior Colleen Matthes had a no-hitter with one out in the seventh before giving up three-straight singles… Struzenberg and senior Casey Jacobs combined to allow just two runs against Hartford all weekend… the Seawolves’ pitching staff allowed just 3 runs all week… Struzenberg set a season-high with 13 strikeouts against Hartford on Sunday… SBU’s offense had one of its best weeks of the season, scoring 33 runs while hitting .367 as a team… Sophomore Suzanne Karath, junior Brijette Martin and senior Vicki Kavitsky all hit .500 or better… Kavitsky hit a pair of homers while driving in seven RBI and scoring seven runs.