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News Release

Weekend Softball Series Pushed Back; Retrievers Host Albany Sunday and Monday in America East Dog Fight

4/4/2008

NOTE: Sunday's first game will now begin at 3:30 p.m. due to lingering rain in the area.


Head coach Joe French and the Retrievers are 3-0 in the America East for the first time ever.

BALTIMORE—With the threat of rain looming on Saturday, UMBC’s softball series against America East rival Albany, has been pushed back one day. The teams will now play a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 3:30 p.m. and a single game on Monday at 1 p.m. at UMBC Softball Stadium. The Retrievers are 14-17 on the season and 3-0 in America East play for the first time ever.

 

On the Great Danes: Albany is 13-10 on the season and 1-0 in America East play, and the Great Danes have won three straight after a doubleheader sweep of Iona on Wednesday. Sophomore Leah McIntosh was named America East Pitcher of the Week on Monday after going 3-0 with a no-hitter and 29 strikeouts last week. She is 7-3 on the season with a 1.96 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 68 innings of work, and she holds batters to a league-best .156 average Outfielder Amber Maisonet leads Albany with a .362 batting average, 16 runs scored, 13 stolen bases and seven extra-base hits, while second baseman Michelle Connors is tops with 13 RBI. Albany is batting .256 as a team and has outscored opponents, 84-68. The three-time defending America East champion, Albany was picked to finish second in the preseason poll.

 

UMBC vs. Albany All-Time: The Great Danes lead the all-time series with the Retrievers, 11-4, dating to 2003. Albany won the first six meetings between the two teams before UMBC took the first game of a three-game series in 2006. Last season, the Retrievers swept the Great Danes in the regular season, but Albany got its revenge in the playoffs, defeating UMBC in the America East Championship game.

 

Who’s Up Next: The Retrievers hit the road to face America East rival Binghamton in a doubleheader on Wednesday. UMBC is 12-6 all-time against the Bearcats in a series that dates to 2002 and 4-3 all-time in Vestal, N.Y. Last season, the Retrievers won two of three games against Binghamton, sweeping the home doubleheader.

 

RBI Machine: Senior Ashley Gray (Pasadena, Md./Northeast/Delaware State) has driven in 12 runs in her last seven games, spanning just 19 at-bats. She is batting .526 (10-for-19) and slugging 1.000 with three home runs during the streak, which dates to March 26 against Bucknell.

 

Streaking: While Ashley Gray’s seven-game hitting streak is the longest current streak on the team, senior second baseman Dana Shepherd (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills) has gotten a hit in six straight games, during which time she is batting .400 (8-for-20) and slugging .850 with a double, a triple, two homers, six RBI and nine runs scored. After hitting just .146 (6-for-41) in her first 14 games of the season, Shepherd has raised her average more than 100 points to .270, batting .375 (18-for-48) over the last 14 games.

 

Milestone Watch: Senior second baseman Dana Shepherd became just the sixth player in UMBC history to record 200 career hits when she clubbed a double in the first inning against Niagara on March 21, and she currently ranks sixth all-time with 214 hits. Senior catcher Kali Shirk (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) is not far behind with 186 base knocks, good for ninth-best in UMBC history.

 

UMBC Career Hits

1)   K. Pickeral             263      2002-05

2)   D. Vecchio             258      1999-2002

3)   L. Boone                249      2000-03

4)   C. Lycett                237      1994-97

5)   A. Wolff                 227      1994-97

6)   D. Shepherd         214      2005-Pres.

7)   R. Ward                 190      2004-07

8)   T. McDonald          187      1996-99

9)   K. Shirk                186      2005-Pres.

10) B. Nevin                 164      1999-2002

 

Milestone Watch, Part II: Shepherd and Shirk are climbing UMBC’s career charts in a number of other offensive categories, as well. Shepherd recently became just the second Retriever to score 150 runs in her career, while Shirk ranks sixth in that category with 135. Shepherd also became the eighth Retriever ever to reach 300 total bases with her home run against George Washington on March 2, and she now ranks fourth with 338 total bases in her career. In addition, Shepherd ranks fourth all-time with 43 career doubles and 72 extra-base hits, fifth with 23 career home runs and 672 career at-bats and sixth with 119 career RBI. Shirk also ranks ninth all-time with 247 career total bases and fourth with 66 career walks.

 

Run, Kali, Run: Senior catcher Kali Shirk ranks third in the America East with 12 stolen bases this season, and she ranks second all-time at UMBC with 83 career steals and third with a .943 career stolen base percentage (83-for-88).

 

UMBC Career Steals

1)   D. Vecchio             135      1999-2002

2)   K. Shirk                83        2005-Pres.

3)   A. Wolff                 79        1994-97

4)   S. Feliciano            57        1993-94

5)   S. Colea                 50        1996-98

 

Top Dawgs: A number of Retrievers rank among the leaders in the America East. Sophomore Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) leads the league with 37 hits, while senior Ashley Gray is tops with 27 RBI and tied for the league lead with five home runs. Fefel ranks third with a .389 average and a .454 on-base percentage and fourth with a .568 slugging percentage, while Gray is second in slugging at .575, seventh in average at .350 and 10th in on-base percentage at .411. Fefel also ranks second in total bases (54), tied for fifth in homers (4) and sixth in RBI (150, while Gray is tied for seventh in this (28) and total bases (46). In addition, senior second baseman Dana Shepherd ranks third in runs scored (20), fifth in RBI (16) tied for fifth in home runs (4) and ninth in total bases (43), while sophomore third baseman Emily Thompson (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) is tied for sixth with six doubles.

 

In the circle, Fefel ranks sixth in strikeouts (57), seventh in innings pitched (61.2) and ninth in ERA (3.06), while freshman Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) ranks second in innings pitched (83.2), tied for second in wins (7), fourth in strikeouts (71) and sixth in opponent batting average (.227).

 

Shepherd Named Candidate for Senior CLASS Award: UMBC senior second baseman Dana Shepherd has been named one of 30 candidates for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, which honors the nation’s best softball seniors who also excel in the classroom and make an impact in their community. The award, presented to NCAA Division I student-athletes each year in eight sports, focuses on the “Four C’s” of classroom, character, community and competition. From the list of 30 nominees, a national media committee will select 10 finalists on April 8. Those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote that will include coaches, media and fans. The award winner will be announced and recognized at the 2008 NCAA Women’s College World Series in Okalahoma City.

 

UMBC Picked Third in Preseason Poll: The UMBC softball team was predicted to finish third in the America East Preseason Coaches’ Poll.  The Retrievers received one first place vote and 35 overall points in a vote of the league’s head coaches. Boston University, the 2007 regular-season champion, is the preseason favorite, as the Terriers received 47 points, including five first-place votes. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own teams.