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News Release

RETRIEVER SOFTBALL HOSTS SECOND ANNUAL UMBC KICKOFF CLASSIC THIS WEEKEND

3/2/2006

Ashlea Underwood leads the Retrievers with a .417 batting average.

Baltimore, Md.-The Retriever softball team opens its home schedule this weekend, hosting the Second Annual UMBC Kickoff Classic March 3-5. Quinnipiac, Coppin State, Delaware State and UMBC will compete, with pool play on Friday and Saturday and championship bracket play on Sunday.

Last year’s Kickoff Classic was cancelled due to snowstorms that hit Baltimore a week earlier.

Dawg Bites…

UMBC is 4-3 on the season and has won three in a row... The Retrievers were crowned the consolation champions of last weekend’s UNC-Wilmington Seahawk Classic. Sophomore Kali Shirk and junior Reilly Ward were named to the all-tournament team, as Shirk hit .353 (6-for-17) in six games with five runs scored and nine steals, while Ward crushed two home runs… Senior Ashlea Underwood is hitting .417 (5-for-12) to lead the Retrievers. The second baseman hit her first collegiate homer in UMBC’s 9-5 win over George Mason on Tuesday… Sophomore Dana Shepherd is batting .462 (6-for-13) with five runs scored during her current four-game hit streak. The shortstop is hitting .375 (9-for-24) on the season… Junior Melanie Denischuk and sophomore Stevie Shore lead the Retrievers with eight RBI apiece. Shirk leads the time with six runs scored and 10 stolen bases.

Power Surge

The Retrievers have put on a power show early on, smashing nine home runs in their first seven games, including two each by Denischuk, Ward and Shore. Ward’s two homers give her 18 in her career, moving her four behind Taryn McDonald for second place in UMBC history.

Home Runs/Career
1. Kristie Pickeral       40
2. Taryn McDonald    22
3. Reilly Ward          18

Speedy Gonzalez

Shirk is a perfect 10-for-10 on the base paths and is now 27-for-27 in stolen base attempts to start her career, a UMBC record. She moves into eighth place all-time at UMBC, just seven behind Stacy Reynolds for seventh place. Shirk has stolen at least one base in six of the Retrievers’ first seven games of the season, and she has swiped three bases twice.

Stolen Bases/Career
1. Deanna Vecchio       135
2. Amy Wolff               79
3. Sue Feliciano            57
4. Lisa Boone               44
5. Taryn McDonald      41
6. Sarah Colea             40
7. Stacy Reynolds         34
8. Kali Shirk               27

1-2 Punch

Senior Lauren Nicholson is 3-0 on the season to give her 41 career wins and move her out of a three-way tie with Crystal Ray and teammate Amy Sadowl for the all-time lead in UMBC history. Sadowl, a senior, moved into second place with her 39th career victory. She has posted a team-best 2.55 ERA on the season.

Wins/Career
1. Lauren Nicholson   41
2. Amy Sadowl            39
3. Crystal Ray              38

K’s for Kearns

Freshman Krista Kearns leads UMBC with 16 strikeouts. She recorded her first collegiate save against Delaware State in the final game of the Seahawk Classic, when she allowed one run but settled down to strike out the side on just 10 pitches to the heart of the Hornets’ lineup.

On the Coppin State Eagles:

Coppin State opens its season this weekend at the UMBC Kickoff Classic and will take on Quinnipiac at 10:30 a.m. Friday in the first game of the tournament. The Eagles will face Delaware State at 2:30 p.m. Friday and UMBC at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The Retrievers defeated the Eagles twice last year, 9-0 and 9-1... The Eagles were selected to finish 11th in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference preseason poll... Coppin State finished the 2005 season with a 3-34 overall record. The Eagles return nine letterwinners and six starters, including Christen Glascoe, who hit a team-best .352 last season with three home runs and 10 RBI. Jennifer Harrell also returns after hitting .281 with nine RBI last season.

On the Delaware State Hornets:

Delaware State is 2-3 to start 2006 after opening the season at the UNC-Wilmington Seahawk Classic last weekend... The Hornets will take on Quinnipiac at 12:30 p.m. Friday and Coppin State at 2:30 p.m. the same day before facing host UMBC at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The Hornets split two games with the Retrievers at last weekend’s Seahawk Classic... Catrina Ansbach leads the team with two home runs.

On the Quinnipiac Bobcats:

Quinnipiac is 1-2 to start the 2006 season... The Bobcats will face Coppin State in the first game of the UMBC Kickoff Classic at 10:30 a.m. Friday and Delaware State at 12:30 p.m. the same day before taking on the host Retrievers at 12:30 p.m. Saturday… The Bobcats were picked to finish fourth in the Northeast Conference... Quinnipiac was 19-29 in 2005. Maria Browne led the league with 24 stolen bases last year... Sammi Allendorfer led the Bobcats with a .293 batting average and 22 RBI.

Second Annual UMBC Kick-Off Classic

Friday, March 3, 2006 – Pool Play
10:30 a.m. Quinnipiac vs. Coppin State
12:30 p.m. Quinnipiac vs. Delaware State
2:30 p.m. Coppin State vs. Delaware State

Saturday, March 4, 2006 – Pool Play
10:30 a.m. UMBC vs. Coppin State
12:30 p.m. UMBC vs. Quinnipiac
2:30 p.m. UMBC vs. Delaware State

Sunday, March 5, 2006 – Bracket Play
9:00 a.m. No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed
11:00 a.m. No. 1 Seed vs. No. 4 Seed
1:00 p.m. Championship Game
3:00 p.m. Consolation

For updates on the tournament, check www.umbcretrievers.com or call the UMBC softball office at 410-455-1325 or UMBC head coach Joe French at 443-454-9103.