CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Jessica Warner, Brittany MacFawn and Allison Cukrov helped UMBC, Albany and Stony Brook go a combined 11-6 last week and have earned America East weekly softball honors for their efforts. Warner earned Player of the Week honors for the second straight week while MacFawn picked up Pitcher of the Week recognition and Cukrov was named Rookie of the Week.
Warner (Huntington, Md.) hit .333 (5-for-15) with three home runs and five RBIs last week to help UMBC go 3-2. The sophomore, who also earned Player of the Week accolades last week, slugged .933 for the week and also compiled a .412 on base percentage while scoring three runs. Her best game of the day came in a 9-2 win over Sacred Heart on Saturday when she hit two of her homers and drove in four.
MacFawn (Orlando, Fla.) had a masterful week on the mound, going 4-0 and hurling 24 scoreless innings. The sophomore right-hander, who was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2011 America East Softball Championship, allowed just 12 hits while striking out 40 and walking only three. MacFawn, who fired three complete-game shutouts last week, allowed just two hits and struck out 14 in a 2-0 win over Bowling Green in best outing of the week Saturday.
Cukrov (Irvine, Calif.), who has twice been named the league's Pitcher of the Week, earned her first top rookie honor of the season. She tossed her first-career no-hitter on Saturday against Holy Cross, striking out 10 batters and allowing just two baserunners in a 7-0 win. Overall for the week, the freshman hurler went 1-1 with a 1.00 ERA. She allowed only seven hits while striking out 15 and walking only three in 14 innings of work.
Conference play gets underway this weekend with three series. The defending champion Great Danes open at UMBC, while Boston U. hosts Binghamton and Hartford travels to Stony Brook.
Team Notes
Albany (11-6) went 6-1 this past week ... With a last-minute doubleheader scheduled against Delaware State on Thursday, UAlbany swept the Hornets, scoring 23 runs and allowing just two ... In the Cherry Blossom Classic, the Great Danes were carried with great pitching performances from Brittany MacFawn, Brittany Schwieger and Allie Weiser ... MacFawn (Orlando, Fla./Timber Creek) recorded three wins in the Classic, two starting and one in relief ... She racked up 24 innings this week and did not allow one run while walking just three batters ... The sophomore pitcher struck out 40 batters and now has struck out 65 batters in 47 innings pitched ... Brittany Schwieger (Orangevale, Calif./Sacramento City College) had a quality start against Bowling Green in a 1-0 loss and came in relief against George Mason to pitch 6.1 innings to pick up her fourth win of the season ... Allie Weiser (Wildwood Crest, N.J./ Wildwood Catholic) pitched four strong innings against George Mason (3/17) to get the no-decision, allowing just one run on three hits ... UAlbany will begin league play this weekend against UMBC on the road
Binghamton (7-11) begins conference play on Saturday at Boston Univ. ... junior outfielder Jessica Phillips (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) and Mikala King (Binghamton. N.Y./Chenango Valley) are tied for the team lead with four home runs each. For her career, Phillips has 33 home runs and needs one more to tie Deannie Plemon (2008-11) for first place all time with 34 home runs. Phillips' 82 RBI is second all time to Plemon's 122 RBI.
Boston U. (14-8) improved to 14-8 on the season after spending Spring Break in Florida ... During the week, the Terriers played three non-tournament games then participated in The Game Tournament from Friday - Sunday...Boston U. went 5-3 on the week, including 4-1 at the tournament....Boston U. played in three extra-innings games, going 2-1 in those affairs....Boston U. was ranked No. 25 in the Mid-Major College Softball Poll ... Terriers picked up wins again two teams that participated in last year's NCAA tournament (Fordham & Maryland)....Terriers hit a season-high seven doubles against Coastal Carolina...Currently riding a three-game winning streak, allowing just one run in the last three contests and have shutout the last two opponents.
Hartford (4-9) went 2-3 this past week, scoring its two wins over Coastal Carolina (1-0) and Colgate (3-2) at the USF Spring Break Tournament ... The Hawks' losses came to Chattanooga-Tennessee (11-1, 5 innings) on Friday, Dartmouth (11-7) on Saturday and Colgate (8-0, 5 innings) on Saturday afternoon ... Senior pitcher Siera Sheehan (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Valley) was solid inside of the circle, as she earned both of Hartford's win, including her second-straight shutout of the season in Friday's victory over Coastal Carolina ... In 20 innings, she combined for 13 strikeouts, including seven in Saturday's 11-7 setback to Dartmouth ... Freshman Peyton Fisher (Kelowna, British Columbia/Kelowna Secondary) provided all of the run support that Hartford needed to grab the 1-0 victory over Coastal Carolina when her base hit to left field plated teammate Andrew Ambers (Greenwood, Del./Milford) from third base ... Senior Erica Phelps (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) paced Hartford at the plate, batting .417 (5-for-12) with two runs scored while Andrews drove in three runs on the weekend and scored twice during the weekend ... The Hawks have eight games on the schedule for this week and will face Northwestern, Northern Texas, Bethune-Cookman and USF in the Sunshine State before returning to the Northeast for the start of conference play, which kicks off with a three-game series at Stony Brook this weekend.
Maine (6-19) went 1-3 at the Hofstra Invitational as it picked up a 3-2 victory over Hofstra in the Black Bears' finale of the tournament. Sophomore hurler Kylie Sparks (Kirkland, Wash.) went the distance in the circle for Maine, picking up her second win of the season and her second complete game victory ... Maine senior Ashley Kelley (Hermon, Maine) fanned six Huskies in Maine's loss on Sunday to UConn. The six strikeouts is a season-high for Kelley ... Sophomore Chelsea Kunin (Carlsbad, Calif.) had a career day on Sunday as she set a new career high with two hits in the game. Kunin also scored and knocked in the first runs of her career ... In the opener of the invitational on Saturday, Maine lost 1-0 in nine innings to Hofstra. It was the fourth extra inning affair for the Black Bears this season as Maine sits 1-3 in extra inning games so far. Kelley pitched solid in the tough loss for Maine as she went 8.1 innings while scattering seven hits and giving up just one run ... The Black Bears are off this weekend but open up conference play at Albany on Saturday, March 31. Maine is 3-2 in its last five conference openers including a 4-1 win at UMBC last season.
UMBC (10-12) went 3-2 this weekend at the UMBC Spring Classic… The Retrievers picked up wins against Siena, Sacred Heart and Brown, but lost to St. Francis (Pa.) and Rhode Island… In the tournament opener against Siena, UMBC scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to erase a two-run deficit and defeat the Saints, 3-2… Senior Katie Ferguson (North East, Md./North East/Cecil CC) threw a complete game, giving up only two runs while striking out six batters to pick up the win… In their lone game on Friday, the Retrievers defeated Sacred Heart, 9-2, to give head coach Joe French his 550th career win… Sophomore Jessica Warner (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) hit two homeruns in the win… On Sunday, UMBC finished its weekend with a win against Brown, 7-1… Senior Angela Yannone (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) replicated Warner’s feat, hitting two homeruns of her own to help pace the hosts… Warner leads the team with a .369 average (24-for-65) with seven homeruns and 16 RBIs… Ferguson is now 7-5 in the circle, and has thrown eight straight complete games… The Retrievers return to the diamond on Tuesday to take on George Mason at 3:30 p.m.
Stony Brook (12-6) posted a 2-2 record last week, falling twice to Big 12 opponent Texas Tech (4-1 and 6-3) and sweeping Holy Cross by scores of 7-0 and 10-1 ... on Saturday against Holy Cross, freshman Allison Cukrov (Irvine, Calif./Irvine) tossed her first-career no-hitter (Stony Brook's first since March 2010), striking out 10, while allowing just two baserunners ... freshman Shayla Giosia (Runnemede, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run to lead the Seawolves...Giosia then went 2-for-3 with an RBI in the second game vs. Holy Cross...Giosia hit .583 last week (7-for-12) to lead the team...senior Bernadette Tenuto (Audubon, N.J./Paul VI) and junior Gina Bianculli (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot) each hit their first home runs of the season in the second game vs. the Crusaders...junior Taylor Chain (Gloucester, N.J./Gloucester) earned the win in the second game with a five-inning, seven-strikeout effort...Cukrov posted a 1.00 ERA in 14 IP last week, striking out 15, while walking just three...Cukrov has allowed two earned runs or less in seven of her eight starts this year and 10 of her 11 appearances overall...Cukrov has recorded 10+ strikeouts on three occasions this season...Stony Brook will take on Fairfield in a doubleheader on Wednesday in Fairfield, Conn., before opening conference play this weekend against Hartford at home.