CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Boston University and Maine earned important sweeps of conference opponents over the weekend and players from the two teams have earned America East weekly softball awards. The Terriers' Brittany Clendenny picked up Player of the Week honors after belting nine extra-base hits last week, while Clendenny's teammate, Whitney Tuthill, went 4-0 with a save on the mound to take home Pitcher of the Week accolades. The Black Bears' EmJ Fogel picked up Rookie of the Week recognition after leading her team to a sweep of UMBC. The awards for the week ending April 29 were announced Monday afternoon.
Clendenny (Gainsville, Va.) batted a robust .529 batting and l.412 in six games, all Terrier wins, last week. The sophomore shortstop belted three homers and six doubles while driving in seven and scoring nine runs. She had five doubles in a doubleheader sweep over Providence and belted a pair of homers in a win over Boston College.
Tuthill (Middleton, Conn.) picked up the win in four of Boston U.'s victories last week and earned a save as well. The junior right-hander allowed just four earned runs in 23 1/3 innings of wek (1.54 ERA) while striking out 20. In league action, she factored into all three of the Terriers' wins over the Hawks, going 2-0 with a save. She fired a two-hit shutout in the Terriers' 1-0 win over the Hawks Saturday.
Fogel (Hermon, Maine) earned her second Rookie of the Week honor of the season by hitting .429 (6-for-14) last week including 5-for-12 the Black Bears key sweep of UMBC. The freshman catcher had a double, scored three runs and drove in four last week.
With just one week to go in the regular season, Stony Brook (12-2-1 AE), Albany (12-3) and Boston U. (10-3) have all clinched America East Championship berths. The four teams are separated by just one game in the loss column of the America East standings. The Seawolves took two out of three from Binghamton (7-11) last week while Albany was idle.
Maine (6-7-1) needs just one win to lock up the final tournament bid. The Black Bears play a makeup game against Boston U. Tuesday before traveling to Hartford next week. The Terriers finish up at UMBC, while Stony Brook hosts Albany.
Team Notes
Albany (31-10, 12-3 AE) was idle last week because of a rainout to its non-conference doubleheader versus Bryant on Thursday, April 26 ... The Great Danes are currently riding a six-game winning streak ... Charlise Castro (Saugerties, N.Y./Kingston), Brittany MacFawn (Orlando, Fla./Timber Creek) and Vicky McFarland (Staten Island, N.Y./ Tottenville) swept last week's America East weekly awards in that order of Player, Pitcher and Rookie of the Week ... Castro is currently leading all players in the triple crown categories with a .482 batting average, 12 homeruns and 46 RBIs ... Diane MacDowell (Middletown, N.Y./Valley Central) continues to climb the UAlbany record book in steals ... She currently sits fourth all-time in steals with 62 and is six behind ex-teammate Adrianna Walraven for third all-time ... The pitching duo of MacFawn and Brittany Schwieger (Orangevale, Calif/Sacramento City College) are writing themselves in the UAlbany record books as well ... The duo have placed themselves in six categories that include wins, winning percentage, strikeouts, ERA, complete games and innings pitched ... The Great Danes will finish out the 2012 schedule with doubleheader against Siena on Tuesday then travel for the final America East weekend series against Stony Brook, beginning on Saturday ... The series versus the Seawolves could potentially decide who will host the 2012 America East Tournament.
With one week left in the regular season, Binghamton (17-26, 7-11 AE) is in a battle with Maine for the fourth and final spot in the America East Tournament. By sweeping three games from UMBC, the Black Bears’ record in conference play currently stands at 6-7-1. While the Bearcats have finished their conference games with a 7-11 mark, Maine hosts Boston University in a single game on Thursday and heads to Hartford for a three-game series next weekend. With one win in its remaining games, the Black Bears would join Stony Brook, Boston University and Albany in the America East Tournament, which will be held May 10-12 at the site of the regular-season champion ... senior outfielder Meghan Tucker (Windsor, N.Y./Kirkwood) finished the recent weekend series against Stony Brook 2-for-6 (.333), drew three walks and scored a pair of runs ... sophomore pitcher Demi Laney (Casselberry, Fla./Lake Howell) fired a six-hit shutout in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Seawolves. It marked her second shutout of the season.
Boston U. (33-13, 11-3 AE) went 6-0 on the week to continue its nine game winning streak, which is the Terriers longest streak this season...Boston U. hosted Providence for a doubleheader on Wednesday and defeated the Friars by scores of 5-3 and 3-1...Sophomore Brittany Clendenny led the way with five doubles on the day while classmate Megan Volpano had five RBIs...The Terriers then defeated rival Boston College on Thursday, 6-4, behind four home runs. Clendenny knocked two out of the park while rookie Mandy Fernandez and senior Melanie Delgado also hit HRs. It allowed the Terriers to complete the season sweep of BC for the first time since 2009...Boston U. then hosted Hartford for its last home games of the regular season and completed the sweep against the Hawks...Junior Whitney Tuthill got both wins on Saturday while Clendenny continued to spark BU at the plate with a grand slam in the 11-1 victory....The Terriers honored their three seniors before Sunday's game, Erica Casacci, Melanie Delgado and Kayla Kruper, before defeating the Hawks 2-0
Hartford (9-39, 3-12 AE) went 1-5 on the week, including three-straight league losses at Boston University over the weekend ... In mid-week action, the Hawks were swept by Quinnipiac in a doubleheader at West Hartford (4-3, 5-1) with the first game going into eight innings before upending the Connecticut Huskies in Storrs by a 13-7 final ... On the week, Peyton Fisher (Kelowna, British Columbia/Kelowna Secondary) batted .313 (5-for-16) with two RBI while Jackie Kelly (Staten Island/St. Joseph by the Sea) went 5-for-18, including one double and a home run, and collected two runs and three RBI ... In its lone win, Hartford's offense exploded for 13 runs on 11 hits, erasing a four-run, first inning deficit ... The 13 runs scord were the most for the Hawks since 2009 when they ousted Rhode Island by a 14-0 count ... Against Boston University, Hartford was outscored by its opponents by a 14-1 margin ... The Terriers used a double steal to score the game-winning run in Saturday's game one and in game three, the Hawks had bases loaded on two occasions, including the top of the seventh, but could not muster up a run in the 2-0 loss ... The Hawks will travel to Fairfield, Conn. to take on the Sacred Heart Pioneers in a doubleheader on Wednesday (3:30 p.m.) before wrapping up the regular season with a home series against Maine ... Prior to Sunday's contest, the Hawks' two seniors - Siera Sheehan (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Valley) and Shannon Simpkins (Millville, N.J./Sacred Heart) will be honored in a Senior Day ceremony.
Maine (15-26-1, 6-7-1 AE) moved into fourth place in the league standings after going 4-0 on the week. The Black Bears stepped out of conference play to defeat St. Joseph's College of Maine 5-0 before sweeping a three-game weekend series from UMBC. Maine swept the doubleheader on Saturday with scores of 7-1 and 9-1 before taking the finale on Sunday 1-0 on a sac-fly in the bottom of the seventh from senior Jennifer Eberhardt (Glendale, Ariz.). The current four-game win streak ties the longest of the year for Maine. The Black Bears are undefeated in their last five with the four wins and a tie at Stony Brook back on April 22nd. A duo of freshman stepped up the offense for Maine over the week as Jessica Burk (Warrenton, Va.) and EmJ Fogel (Vienna, Va.) each hit .429 (6-for-14) with three runs scored each. Fogel has hit in five-straight games for Maine and leads the team with 11 multi-hit games. Maine's pitchers have not allowed more than one run in each of its last six games. The Black Bears look to lock up a playoff spot as they host Boston University in a makeup game on Tuesday before traveling to battle Hartford in a three-game weekend set. Prior to the game on Sunday, Maine honored its five seniors, Eberhardt, Ashley Kelley (Hermon, Maine), Margaret Hilton (Lyndonville, Vt.), Brynne Davis (Winslow, Maine) and Lindsey Jenkins (Greenwich, Conn.), for their hard work and dedication to the Black Bear softball program.
UMBC (19-28, 1-14 AE) swept LaSalle in a doubleheader on Tuesday before dropping all three weekend games at Maine… Against the Explorers, sophomore Kayla Martinez (Odenton, Md./Arundel) and junior Heather Brown (Pasadena, Md./Northeast) each threw a complete game to pick up the wins… In game one UMBC was trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth when senior Ashley Carver (Swoyersville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) hit her first career homerun, a two-run shot, to give the Retrievers the lead… Freshman Taylor Hall (Cosby, Va./Cosby) then led off the sixth inning with a double and extended the lead to 3-1 by scoring on a ball hit by freshman Courtney Reinfeld (Parkland, Fla./Stoneman Douglas)… In game two, UMBC capitalized on three LaSalle errors in the fifth inning to score five runs and held on to win 5-3… Carver along with classmates Amanda Damiano (Tamaqua, Pa./Marian Catholic) and Angela Yannone (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) each went 2-for-3 for the Retrievers in the second game of the twin bill… Over the weekend, Maine shut down the Retriever offense on Saturday, posting two victories, 7-1 and 9-1… On Sunday, both pitchers were dominant, but the Black Bears earned the sweep with a walk-off sac fly in the seventh to win 1-0… UMBC concludes the regular season this weekend with a three-game series against Boston U.
Stony Brook (33-13-1, 12-2-1 AE) went 2-2 last week, dropping an 8-7 decision at Sacred Heart on Wednesday and taking two of three from Binghamton over the weekend...on Saturday, the Bearcats took the first game 3-0, before the Seawolves rallied for a 2-1 win in game two...Stony Brook claimed the rubber match on Sunday, 7-2, using a six-run sixth inning to blow the game open...freshman Shayla Giosia (Runnemede, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) capped the inning with her first-career grand slam, pushing her RBI total to 42 on the season...freshman Allison Cukrov (Irvine, Calif./Irvine) pitched all 20 innings over the weekend against Binghamton and posted a 2.10 ERA with 31 strikeouts, while holding the Bearcats to a .149 average...on Sunday, Cukrov struck out a career-high 13 (including 10 of the first 14 batters in the game) and carried a no-hitter bid into the fifth inning...Cukrov now has 22 wins this season, which is two shy of tying a single-season program record...Stony Brook will play its final non-conference opponent of the regular season on Tuesday with a twin-bill at Quinnipiac at 2:30 p.m., before hosting Albany this weekend in a showdown between the top two teams in the standings.