New for the 2011-2012 seasons, the America East Daily Word, a collaboration between AmericaEast.com and AExtra, will recap the previous day's games and on goings on our nine campuses and provide links to previews, recaps, features and exclusive coverage.

It’s the final week of the regular season for America East softball teams and the playoff chase is a good one. Stony Brook leads the way followed very closely by Albany and Boston University who are both 12-3 in league play.

Boston U. returned to the Bay State late last evening after making up a conference game against Maine in Orono. The Terriers took that game, 5-3. Down 2-0 early, Boston U. scored three unanswered runs in the top of the seventh to grab a 5-2 lead. Check out a recap of the action from the Bangor Daily News.

We’ve got a great non-conference matchup this afternoon between the Terriers and UMass. Both teams enter Wednesday’s battle in Amherst with solid RPI rankings putting them in the conversation for at-large NCAA Tournament bids. Boston U. also brings with it a 10-game winning streak.

In order to get No. 11 and just their third win over UMass since 1996, the Terriers will most likely have to beat one of the nation’s best pitchers. The Minutewomen’s Sara Plourde boasts a 29-9 record to go along with a nifty 1.96 ERA. Even more impressive, Plourde has struck out 434 batters in 236 innings pitched.

Check out a full preview of today’s games as well as a recap from yesterday’s win over Maine in the Daily Free Press.

Follow along with live stats from Amherst.

For more of the Daily Word, check out the AExtra Blog.