CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Three America East softball standouts whose performances led directly to victories last week have earned weekly awards. Boston University's April Setterlund (Torrance, Calif./South Torrance) and Erin Schuppert (Atlantic Beach, Fla./D.U. Fletcher) earned Player and Pitcher of the Week accolades, respectively, while Stony Brook's Elise Fortier (Coventry, R.I./Coventry) picked up the Rookie of the Week award. The honors for the week ending March 20 were announced Monday afternoon.
Setterlund, a senior outfielder, had a memorable week batting .435 with three home runs, eight runs scored and 14 RBI in eight games. The reigning America East Player of the Year and All-American also walked 10 times and racked up a .606 on-base percentage last week, stole six bases in eight tries and had three doubles. Setterlund had an historic day in a doubleheader sweep of Colorado State on Tuesday as she she went 3-for-5 with three walks, a three-run homer, two grand slams, five runs and 11 RBI.
3-0 last week with a 0.31 ERA, struck out 23 batters.
Schuppert, a sophomore hurler, went 3-0 with a 0.31 earned-run average, allowing just one earned run in 22 innings of work last week. Schuppert, who fanned 23 hitters against just eight walks, fired complete-game shutouts against Colorado State and Florida A&M. She also threw three scoreless innings of relief against Texas Tech and earned another win by allowing just two runs (one earned) in seven innings against Jacksonville Sunday.
Fortier, who also earned top rookie honors last week, hit .333 and slugged .867 with two homers, two doubles, three runs scored and four RBI in four games over the weekend. A freshman third baseman, she hit a pair of two-run home runs to lift her team to wins at the Stony Brook Invitational. On Sunday with her team trailing 4-2 against Fairfield in the 7th, Fortier delivered a game-tying two-run shot. In the next game against Holy Cross, Fortier again aided a comeback with a two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Seawolves' deficit to 3-2.
Team Notes
Albany (3-12) went 2-3 at George Mason's Cherry Blossom Classic over the weekend... The Great Danes lost to Geroge Mason and Howard, defeated Cornell and split two games with Monmouth... Lauren Alcorn (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) recorded a walk-off single in the 10th to lead UAlbany to a 3-2 extra-inning win over Cornell on Friday... Brittany Schweiger (Orangevale, Calif./Bella Vista) and Brittany MacFawn (Orlando, Fla./Timber Creek) combined in the circle against Cornell, throwing five innings apiece... MacFawn fanned nine opposing batters in the second half of the game to earn the win... Kristine Bill (Woodland, Calif./Woodland) keyed the win over Monmouth on Saturday with a triple and an RBI single that scored the game-winning run... Jessica Bergen (New Windsor, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) recorded an RBI single against Monmouth on Sunday morning for the Great Danes' lone run... UAlbany will return to action this weekend at the Delaware State Tournament, taking on the host Hornets along with Colgate and Morgan State.
Binghamton (7-7) sophomore outfielder Jessica Phillips (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North Syracuse) went 6-for-15 (.400) at the James Madison Tournament this past weekend. She scored a run in each game, had a double, home run and three RBI. Phillips has also reached base safely in 13 straight games. Her on-base percentage is a team-best .549 and she scored a team-high 11 runs. In addition, Phillips has a team-best four home runs and 15 RBI ... Senior first baseman Stephanie DeLuca (Yonkers, N.Y./Ursuline) has hit safely in the Bearcats' last three games, going 3-for-6 during that stretch ... in the three games she played at the James Madison Tournaemnt, freshman Anna Blessing (Ashburn, N.Y./Broad Run) scored a pair of runs ... senior catcher Deannie Plemon (Irvine, Calif./Irvine) has hit safely in six of the past nine games ... The Bearcats' pitching staff has recorded a league-best 2.50 ERA.
Boston University (12-7) improved to 12-7 on the season as it won six games last week down in Florida ... Senior April Setterlund (Torrance, Calif./South Torrance) had a fantastic week as she batted .435 with three home runs - two grand slams and a three-run homer - 14 RBI, three doubles and six stolen bases ... Setterlund had one of the most prolific afternoons against Colorado State in a doubleheader as she tied her own single-game school records with seven RBI and two home runs - one grand slam & one three-run homer - in the first game. She capped off the day with yet another grand slam in the night cap of the doubleheader. She also added in there three stolen bases ... Red-shirt freshman Jayme Mask (Grafton, Mass./Grafton Memorial), sophomore Whitney Tuthill (Middletown, Conn./Suffield Academy), and freshman Alyssa Barsanti (Morgan Hill, Calif./St. Francis) also batted above .400 in eight games ... The Terriers six wins came against Colorado State (11-7, 9-0), Kent State (10-9 9 inns.), FAMU (7-0), Winthrop (4-1), and Jacksonville (3-2) ... This week, the Terriers are set to host their home opener against Harvard on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Boston U. Softball Field before opening America East action at Stony Brook on Saturday and Sunday.
Hartford (3-11) completed play at the Rebel Spring Games, going 3-7 over the past week to finish 3-9 at the Rebel Spring Games ... After an 0-6 start to the season, the Hawks picked up their first win on Tuesday, an 8-4 defeat of Fairleigh Dickinson ... Six Hawks connected for hits with freshman Amber Andrews (Greenwood, Del./Milford Senior), and sophomores Kate Wacyk (Sellersville, Pa./Pennridge) and Nicole Springer (New Britian, Conn./Kingswood Oxford)recording multi-hit games ... Springer finished 3-for-3 while Wacyk drove in five runs on a pair of homers ... Hartford earned a 3-2 win against Army on Thursday and slammed St. Peter's on its final day in the Sunshine State with a commanding 11-0 victory on Sunday ... Hartford makes its home debut on Wed., March 23 when it welcomes non-conference opponent Iona to West Hartford for a doubleheader ... The Hawks continue their homestand with their America East opener, a three-game series with Binghamton, kicking-off with a twinbill on Saturday (1 p.m.) and concluding with a single game on Sunday (12 p.m.).
Maine (8-19) had its only scheduled games, a doubleheader at Wagner on Sunday, canceled ... The Black Bears continue to be led on offense by senior captain Terren Hall (Bucksport, Maine) who is hitting .351 with a league-leading six home runs, 22 RBIs, 27 hits and 49 total bases ... Hall currently sits just one home run away from 31 in her career, which would match the all-time home run record at Maine set by Sara Jewett from 1997-2000 ... Hall has also reached base safely in her last 12 games ... Hall, Jennifer Eberhardt (Glendale, Ariz.), and Kali Burnham (Courtice, Ontario) currently rank one, two and three in the league in hits with 27, 25 and 22 respectively ... The Black Bears continue to be strong in extra inning affairs as they are a perfect 3-0 on the season in extra inning games and a strong 6-1 when leading after six innings ... Maine continues to score runs once they've seen a pitcher for a few innings as they have scored 35 runs in the last three innings so far this season ... The Black Bears open up conference play with three games at UMBC beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday ... Maine took two of three from the Retrievers a year ago in Orono.
UMBC (11-9) went 5-0 last week to drive its winning streak to six in a row… The Retrievers batted .340 as a team with four players batting better than .350… UMBC defeated George Mason, 3-1, on Wednesday… Senior Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) allowed just one unearned run on four hits and struck out a season-high 12… The Retrievers stole seven bases in the game… UMBC went 4-0 with three extra-inning victories to win the UMBC Spring Classic over the weekend… The Retrievers defeated St. Francis, 7-6, in eight innings on Friday… Senior second baseman Lauren Brummell (Hanover, Va./Hanover) and senior left fielder Julia Culotta (Street, Md./North Harford/Tennessee) both homered in the game… UMBC then beat Morgan State, 12-11, in eight innings, collecting a season-high 15 hits… Junior Katie Ferguson (North East, Md./North East/Cecil CC) went 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored and also earned the victory in relief… After jumping out to a 7-0 lead, the Retrievers held on to defeat Niagara, 8-7, on Saturday… Sophomore right fielder Ashley Scroggin (Stafford, Va./North Stafford) blasted her third home run of the season… UMBC finished the week with a 9-8, 10-inning victory over Brown on Sunday… Eight different Retrievers had at least one hit in the game, led by Ferguson’s 3-for-5 effort… Six different Retrievers are batting better than .300 this season, led by Brummell’s .394 average… The Retrievers conclude their 20-game home stand this week, hosting Temple and Rhode Island in doubleheaders on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, before opening America East play with a three-game series against Maine this weekend.
Stony Brook (8-9) posted a 3-1 record at the Stony Brook Invitational over the weekend, including two dramatic, come-from behind victories on Sunday...Stony Brook trailed Fairfield, 4-2, heading into the bottom of the seventh, before freshman Elise Fortier (Coventry, R.I.) hit a two-run HR to tie the game...Stony Brook then won on a walk-off single by junior Lauren Maloney (Las Vegas, Nev.) ... the Seawolves trailed 4-0 in the game, but scored the final five runs...Stony Brook then staged a comeback against Holy Cross in the next game...after trailing 3-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth, Fortier delivered with another two-run HR to make it 3-2 ... Stony Brook then tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh on a two-out bloop single by junior Suzie Karath (Fishkill, N.Y.) and won the game in the bottom of the ninth on a squeeze bunt by sophomore Samantha Rossi (Marlton, N.J.) to score Maloney ... Senior pitcher Colleen Matthes was dominant over the weekend, picking up two wins and a save, while registering a 1.35 ERA and 29 K in 20.2 IP...Matthes held opponents to a .169 batting average and only two extra-base hits, while allowing only four earned runs...Matthes struck out a career-high 12 batters in a win on Sunday against Holy Cross...sophomore Shannon O'Shea (Lake Worth, Fla.) led the offense over the weekend with a .545 batting average (6-for-11)...Stony Brook has now won six of its last seven games ... the Seawolves will continue their homestand on Wednesday with a doubleheader vs. Monmouth (2 p.m.), before opening conference play this weekend with three games against Boston University.