CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- University of Maine's Jennifer Eberhardt (Glendale, Ariz./Peoria/Glendale CC) and Boston University's Holli Floetker (Fountain Valley, Calif./Ocean View) are the first America East softball weekly award winners of the 2011 season. Eberhardt picked up Player of the Week honors while Floetker is the Pitcher and Rookie of the Week. The honors for the week ending Feb. 27 were announced Monday afternoon.
Eberhardt, a junior shortstop, batted .563 (9-for-16) in five games over the weekend with a home run and two doubles. A transfer from Glendale Community College, Eberhardt drove in four runs and scored a pair. Her best performance of the weekend led the Black Bears to a 4-0 win over Villanova. In that game, Eberhardt went 3-for-3 with two doubles and walked while scoring a run and driving in a run.
Floetker, a freshman hurler, fired nine shutout innings last week and picked up the win in Boston University's 4-0 victory over SIU-Edwardsville Friday. She allowed just three hits and struck out five in picked up her first career collegiate victory and shutout. Floetker also pitched two no-hit innings of relief against Miami (Ohio) Saturday.
Team Notes
Albany (1-4) kicked off the 2011 season in Fort Myers, Fla., at the Moe's Blue & Green Invite hosted by Florida Gulf Coast... The Great Danes' lone victory of the weekend came in a 10-inning game against Eastern Michigan... Junior Brittany Schweiger (Orangevale, Calif./Bella Vista) earned the win in the circle... Schweiger made three appearances, including two starts and one complete game, striking out 12 opposing batters in 14.1 innings of work... Senior Gina Mason (Sacramento, Calif./El Camino) hit .400 for the weekend, recording six hits, including a home run, while scoring three runs and driving in two more... Andrianna Walraven (Thompson Ridge, N.Y./Pine Bush) batted .286 with two doubles, while drawing three walks in 14 at bats... Jessica Bergin (New Windsor, N.Y./Newburg Free Academy) drove in a team-high four runs on four hits, including two doubles... The Great Danes will return to action over the weekend at a tournament at Santa Clara.
Binghamton launches its 10th season in the America East Conference at the Stetson Tournament this weekend. The Bearcats return six position players and 11 letterwinners, as well as three pitchers from last year's squad that went 24-19 and just missed out on reaching the conference tournament for the first time ... senior catcher Deannie Plemon (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge) earned first-team all-conference honors and second-team all-region accolades in 2010. Sophomore left fielder Jessica Phillips (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) was the America East Rookie of the Year in 2010 and was named second-team all-conference and first-team all-region. The Bearcats other returning position players are junior outfielder Meghan Tucker (Kirkwood, N.Y./Windsor), who was named second team all-conference, junior third baseman Colleen Whitaker (Salinas, Calif./Notre Dame), junior second baseman Briana Andrews (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott) and senior first baseman Stephanie DeLuca (Yonkers, N.Y./Ursuline) ... the Bearcats' pitching staff is led by junior Kristen Emerling (Germantown, Tenn./Houston), a second-team all-conference selection and sophomore Rhoda Marsteller (New Park, Pa./Kennard Dale), who was an all-rookie pick last season. Sophomore Kate Price (Brewertown, N.Y./Central Square) was among the national leads in saves.
Boston University (2-2) split its four games at the Louisville Black & Red Tournament during its first week of the season ... The Terriers earned wins over SIUE, 4-0, and Wright State, 5-0, and fell to Louisville, 5-0, and Miami (Ohio), 5-3 ... Senior April Setterlund (Torrance, Calif./Torrance) got her final campaign started off on the right foot as she batted .400 in 10 at-bats with two doubles, one home run, and three RBIs ... Meanwhile, the freshmen class made its mark as Holli Floetker (Fountain Valley, Calif./Ocean View) earned a perfect 0.00 ERA with one win ... She struck out seven batters in 9.1 innings of work and surrendered just three hits ... Red-shirt freshman Jayme Mask (Grafton, Mass./Grafton Memorial) batted .333 in the lead-off spot .... The Terriers will return to the diamond this week when they head down to the Georgia Tech Buzz Classic to take on Kennesaw State, Mercer, Winthrop, Georgia Tech, Austin Peay, and Georgia State.
Under first-year head coach Diana Consolmagno, Hartford continues to gear up for the upcoming 2011 season with hopes of returning to the America East Conference tournament for the first time in three years ... Despite boasting a young roster with 10 freshmen and sophomores, the Hawks' four upperclassmen have stepped up to fill important leadership roles on the squad ... The Hawks return first-team all-conference honoree Nicole Springer (New Britain, Conn./Kingswood Oxford) who batted .325 last season as a rookie with 19 extra base hits and 34 runs ... For the first time since the 1992 season, the Hawks kick off their 2011 campaign in the Northeast with a doubleheader at Manhattan on Sunday, March 6 ... Hartford then plays host to Rhode Island for a single game on Wednesday, March 9 before heading to the Sunshine State for the Rebel Spring Games, a 12-game slate in Kissimmee, Fla.
Maine (3-7) went 1-4 over the weekend at the UCF/Courtyard by Marriott Invitational ... Jennifer Eberhardt (Glendale, Ariz.) led the offensive attack for Maine as she hit .562 at the invitational including two 3-for-3 games, one in the win against Villanova in the opening game. Eberhardt also stroked her first career home run as a Black Bear on Saturday against UCF ... Freshman Jean Stevens notched her first hit and drove in her first runs as a Black Bear against UCF ... Senior captain Terren Hall (Bucksport, Maine) currently has two home runs on the year and now sits just five away from tying the all-time school record for home runs in a career, which stands at 31 ... Eberhardt has adapted nicely at Maine as she currently leads Maine in average (.367), hits (11), RBIs (5), total bases (17), slugging pct (.567) and on-base pct (.424) and has made just one error in 34 chances at short ... The Black Bears have 11 games over the next week beginning with a doubleheader on March 1 against Western Michigan in Clearwater, Fla.
UMBC (1-4) opened the season at the Moe’s Blue & Green Invite hosted by Florida Gulf Coast University this weekend… The Retrievers fell to Eastern Michigan, 6-1, in Friday’s first game… Senior center fielder Lynn Pronobis (Waldorf, Md./McDonough) went 3-for-3… UMBC then fell to Southern Illinois, 5-1… The Retrievers managed just three hits in the game… UMBC scored just one run for the third straight game in a 5-1 loss to Iowa on Saturday… Junior first baseman Katie Ferguson (North East, Md./North East/Cecil CC) hit her first Retriever home run to account for the lone run of the game… UMBC’s bats finally came to life in an 11-4 victory over St. Francis (Pa.), pounding out 14 hits… The Retrievers exploded for six runs in the third, including a three-run double by freshman third baseman Jessica Warner (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown)… Senior Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) picked up the win after tossing four scoreless innings in relief… Ferguson went 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Warner and senior shortstop Julia Culotta (Street, Md./North Harford/Tennessee) each had three hits and two RBI… The Retrievers dropped their final game of the weekend to Eastern Michigan, 8-0, in five innings… UMBC again managed just four hits… Pronobis and Ferguson each finished the weekend with a team-best six hits… The Retrievers visit George Washington for a doubleheader on Tuesday, then host the UMBC Retriever Classic next weekend, where they will take on Mount St. Mary’s, Siena, Princeton and Iona.
Stony Brook (1-3) improved to 11-6 all-time in the Megan Bryant era in season openers with a 1-0 victory over Bucknell on Saturday ... the Seawolves own consecutive opening-day shutouts after defeating Toledo 14-0 on opening day 2010 ... Stony Brook plated three runs over the weekend; all of them were unearned.