The 2014 America East Softball Championship, a three-day, double-elimination tournament, to decide the conference champion, begins Thursday at Stony Brook's University Field.
On Thursday, top-seeded Stony Brook will face fourth-seeded UMBC at 1 p.m. and Albany will take on third-seeded Binghamton at 3:30 p.m.. Following Thursday's doubleheader, three games will be played Friday, while the championship game (games if necessary) will take place Saturday. The league champion will receive an automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Softball Championship, where America East teams have won six games since 2007.
Stony Brook (32-16, 15-2 AE), whose .882 America East winning percentage is its best in the 13 seasons in the league, won two out of three at Binghamton this weekend to claim its first regular-season crown since 2009. The defending champion Seawolves are well balanced, ranking in top three in hitting (3rd - .273), ERA (2nd - 2.69) and fielding percentage (3rd - .961). The Seawolves will lean on the right arm of America East Pitcher of the Year Allison Cukrov, who won a league-best 21 games during the regular season and has won 17 straight decisions.
Albany (29-10, 14-3 AE), which is seeking its fifth league title, is seeded second, the fourth-straight year it has been seeded second or better. The Great Danes will enter the tournament winners of nine in a row and lead the league in hitting (.294) and team ERA (2.51). First-team all-conferene hurler Brittany MacFawn will man the circle for Albany after posting a league-best 1.51 ERA this season.
Binghamton (21-23, 10-7 AE) will aim for its first-ever league title after reaching the conference tournament for the third time in the last four years. The Bearcats, who won 20 games for the fifth-straight year after going seven seasons without doing so, lead the league slugging .470 as a team. Second-team all-leaguer Demi Laney is slated to pitch for Binghamton Thursday.
UMBC (31-20, 8-9 AE) is in the tournament field for first time since 2011. Seeking its first-ever America East title, the Retrievers are in the midst of their best season since 2009 when they won 34 games. UMBC led the league in home runs, powered by first-team all-conference standouts Taylor Hall (14) and Danielle O'Neill (10). All-Rookie honoree Jessica Holte will be in the circle after winning 18 games during the regular season.
Visit Championship Central for complete updates throughout the tournament.
2014 America East Softball Championship
At Stony Brook
Thursday, May 8
Game 1: No. 1 Stony Brook vs. No. 4 UMBC, 1 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Albany vs. No. 3 Binghamton, 3:30 p.m.
Friday, May 9
Game 3: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 11 a.m.
Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 1:30 p.m. (elimination game)
Game 5: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner, 4 p.m. (elimination game)
Saturday, May 10
Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 12 p.m. (championship game)
Game 7: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser, 2:30 p.m. (if necessary)