CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Binghamton University's Jessica Phillips (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) had a monster week to collect both America East softball Player and Rookie of the Week honors, while Boston University's Cassidi Hardy earned Pitcher of the Week accolades after putting her team in position for the league's regular-season crown. The awards for the week ending May 2 were announced Monday afternoon.
Phillips, a freshman outfielder, batted an even .500 (7-14) with six extra-base hits, seven RBI and eight runs scored. She belted a whopping five homers in five game last week and recorded a 1.643 slugging percentage. Phillips, who leads the league with 15 long balls, belted two of her round trippers in league wins over Stony Brook over the weekend.
Hardy, a senior right-hander, did not allow a run in three appearances last week. The 2009 Most Outstanding Player at the America East Championship, Hardy went 2-0 in a key conference series against Maine and picked up a save against Harvard earlier in the week. She allowed just three hits, one walk and struck out 23 over 16 scoreless innings of work.
The Terriers can clinch the regular-season title with their next league win.
Team Notes
Albany (18-20, AE 7-7) swept Siena in a doubleheader for the third time this season in its only action this week … The Great Danes, who extended their winning streak to 15 games in the series, won the opener, 8-1, and took the nightcap by a 5-0 decision … UAlbany has not lost to Siena since falling by a 5-3 score on March 28, 2007 … Freshman Kylie Apostolina (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna), who entered the twinbill with no home runs and seven RBIs this season, had a breakthrough afternoon … She went 3-for-5 at the plate, which included hitting a home run in each game as well as a double in the opener … She also registered four RBIs, scored four runs and drew two walks … Leah McIntosh (Whitby, Ontario/Sinclair) took a perfect game into the seventh inning of the nightcap before finishing with a one-hit shutout … The senior, who has gone 14 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run, matched a season-high with 12 strikeouts and issued just one walk … Michelle Connors (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa), who batted .571 in the doubleheader, hit a two-run homer in the second game and scored three times … Gina Mason (Sacramento, Calif./El Camino) and Jessica Bergin (New Windsor, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) are each batting over .300 this season and continue to pace the offense … Mason leads the squad in batting average (.373), home runs (8), RBIs (30), hits (38), runs scored (23), slugging percentage (.676) and on-base percentage (.472) … Bergin ranks first on the team with 15 stolen bases … She is second on the squad behind Mason in multiple offensive categories, including batting average (.309) and slugging percentage (.553) … Over half of her hits, including a team-high 10 doubles, have been for extra bases … With postseason implications on the line, UAlbany will wrap up the regular season when it travels to UMBC for a three-game series this weekend … The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, May 8 at 1 p.m., and a single game on Sunday, May 9 at 12 p.m. … The Great Danes have qualified for the league’s postseason tournament every year since joining the league in 2002 and have advanced to the championship round a conference-best five straight seasons.
Binghamton (24-17, AE 8-10) clinched its first winning season at the Division I level with a 3-2 week … Binghamton took two of three from Stony Brook to earn its first series win against the Seawolves since 2002 … The 24 wins on the season also marks a Division I record for first-year head coach Michelle Burrell … Binghamton closes its conference slate at 8-10 and is still in contention for their first-ever postseason tournament berth … BU needs UMBC to sweep a three-game set at home against Albany to earn a playoff berth … Freshman left fielder Jessica Phillips (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) blasted five home runs on the week and now has a school-record 15 homers this year … Phillips batted .500, slugged a monstrous 1.643 and led the team with a .632 on-base percentage on the week … Sophomore pitcher Kristen Emerling (Germantown, Tenn./Houston) improved to 14-4 and picked up two complete game victories over Stony Brook … Emerling was 2-1 on the week with 2.33 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 18 innings of work, and was 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in 14 innings against Stony Brook … Junior catcher Deannie Plemon (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge) batted .500 on the week and hit two home runs … Plemon’s school-record 17 game hitting streak came to a close this week, but the slugger holds the single-season record for most RBI (43) and her .373 batting average is on pace for a program high … Junior Stephanie DeLuca (Yonkers, N.Y./Ursuline) continued her strong play this season with six RBI on the week … As a team, Binghamton has hit 42 home runs, compared to only giving up 21 to its opponents … BU is now 11-4 at home and will have four more non-conference home games to wrap up its regular season this week.
Hartford (16-20, AE 3-12) went 1-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play … Hartford dropped a non-conference doubleheader to in-state rivals Central Connecticut on Wednesday 1-10 and 6-7 … Over the weekend, UMBC took two of three games from the Hawks on Senior Weekend … Hartford took game one by a 5-3 final and fell 5-7 and 2-4 in the final games of the series … The Hawks wrap on the season with five games on the road … Junior Amanda Dilworth (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) continues to lead the team in hitting this season with a .347 average … She has notched 33 hits including seven doubles and a triple and leads the team with 20 walks … Jessica Oliveira (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Liberty) led the Hawks in the conference series and batted .500 with five hits … The rookie also scored three times … Prior to Saturday’s doubleheader, the Hawks honored their four seniors Sara Messinger (New Egypt, N.J.), Rachel Clonick (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton), Ann Kyzer (Boxborough, Mass./Acton Boxborough Reg.) and Olivia Piacentini (Rochester, N.Y./East Irondequoit Eastridge) … Hartford travels to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. for a twinbill with Marist on Tuesday and concludes the 2010 campaign with a three game series at Boston University.
Maine (21-24, AE 10-5) clinched their first America East Tournament appearance since 2006… The dropped their first conference series of the year to Boston U. this weekend… Alexis Souhlaris leads the team with a .398 batting average… She is 22 for 25 in the stolen base department this season… Terren Hall is right behind her with a .383 batting average with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs… Cayleigh Montano made three appearances over the weekend and won her second game of the year in a start in game two… Montano allowed just two earned runs in 12 plus innings… Hall drove in five runs in game two… Three runs scored on her 11th home run of the season… The Black Bears honored their six seniors before Sunday’s game… The seniors include Whitney Spangler, Cayleigh Montano, Alexis Souhlaris, Kristen Calvetti, Stephanie George and Christine McGivney.
UMBC (24-22, AE 5-10) won two of three games at America East rival Hartford this weekend, but were eliminated from contention for a playoff berth due to Binghamton taking two of three from Stony Brook… The Retrievers dropped the first game, 5-3… Senior Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) broke UMBC’s all-time record with her 41st career home run… It was her 11th of the season, tied for the eighth-highest single-season total ever by a Retriever… She is one of just two Retrievers ever to reach double digits in home runs three times in her career… UMBC took the nightcap, 7-5, in eight innings… It was head coach Joe French’s 300th victory at the helm of the Retrievers… UMBC trailed, 5-1, heading into the seventh inning but scored four runs on four hits and two errors to tie it, and junior designated player Lauren O’Malley (Pasadena, Md./Archbishop Spalding) singled with two outs in the eighth to drive in the go-ahead runs… It was the seventh time the Retrievers have won a game when tied or trailing after six innings… Senior right fielder Emily Thompson (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) went 4-for-5 with a double, a homer and three runs… It was her first career four-hit game and just the second by a Retriever this season… Her homer was the 17th of her career, which ranks 10th all-time… UMBC won the series finale, 4-2… The Retrievers scored four runs in the first inning… Freshman Heather Brown (Pasadena, Md./Northeast) earned both of UMBC’s victories on the weekend and pitched to a miniscule 0.78 ERA in 9.0 innings… Thompson batted .615 (8-for-13) to lead the Retrievers at the plate… She is batting a team-best .415 with nine extra-base hits against America East opponents… The Retrievers host America East rival Albany in a season-ending three-game series next weekend.
Stony Brook (25-18, AE 8-6) clinched a spot in the America East Championship this weekend by taking a game from Binghamton… the Seawolves won game one of the three game series, 4-3… Freshman Shannon O’Shea drove in the game-winning runs with an RBI single in the fourth inning… the freshman catcher hit .417 for the week, driving in a team-high five runs… SBU dropped its other two games in the series, 4-1 and 5-4… Stony Brook opened the week losing a pair of close games with Sacred Heart… Seniors Vicki Kavitsky and Katelyn O’Donnell both hit homers against the Pioneers… SBU hosts a doubleheader against Seton Hall on Wednesday before wrapping up conference play with a series against Maine.