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News Release

Softball Hosts America East Rival Vermont in Weekend Series

4/17/2009

Krista Kearns

BALTIMORE—Coming off a 3-3 road trip, the UMBC softball team (27-17, 5-6 AEC) returns home to host America East rival Vermont (6-28, 3-8 AEC) in a three-game series this weekend at UMBC Softball Stadium. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. and a single game on Sunday at 12 p.m.

On the Catamounts: Vermont is 6-28 on the season and 3-8 in America East play after dropping a doubleheader to Albany on Wednesday. The Catamounts have lost five in a row. Catcher Rachelle Boone is batting a team-best .287 with eight RBI, while shortstop/outfielder Rebecca Heimbinger has belted six doubles and outfielder Kellin Haley has stolen nine bases. Vermont is hitting just .179 as a team and has been outscored, 191-48, on the season. Jocelyn Abaray has posted a 3-10 record and a 3.54 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 95.0 innings of work.

UMBC vs. Vermont All-Time: The Retrievers lead the all-time series, 9-7, and have won seven of the last 10 meetings, but Vermont won two of three last season in Burlington. As America East rivals, the teams have met three times a year since the Retrievers joined the conference in 2004, but they never met prior.

Weigman’s Whiffs: With 28 strikeouts in her three games this week, sophomore hurler Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) became the first Retriever ever to fan 200 batters in one season, and she now has 226 in 187 innings for a ratio of 8.6 strikeouts per seven innings. After whiffing a Retriever freshman-record 141 batters last season, Weigman now ranks third all-time in UMBC history in career strikeouts with 367, just 20 behind current Retriever pitching coach Lauren Nicholson and 55 shy of Crystal Ray’s school record of 422. Weigman entered the week ranking 19th in the nation in strikeouts this season.

UMBC Career Strikeouts

1. Crystal Ray, 422, 1998-2000
2. Lauren Nicholson, 387, 2003-06
3. Stephanie Weigman, 367, 2008-Present

It Takes Two: The Retrievers have belted 70 doubles this season, led by sophomore second baseman Lauren Brummell with 16 and sophomore first baseman/outfielder Malorie Weller with 12. Brummell entered the week ranking 10th in the NCAA in doubles per game (0.39), while UMBC ranked 18th as a team (1.59). Brummell’s 16 two-baggers are the most ever by a Retriever sophomore, surpassing Lisa Boone’s 14 in 2001, and they are tied for the sixth-highest single-season total in UMBC history.

UMBC Single-Season Doubles

1. Dana Shepherd, 19, 2007
2. Lisa Boone, 18, 2002
3. Bonnie Nevin, 18, 2002
4. Amy Wolff, 17, 1997
5. Reilly Ward, 17, 2006
6. Deanna Vecchio, 16, 2002
7. Christy Sheppard, 16, 2003
8. Lauren Brummell, 16, 2009
9. 4 Ted at 14

Home Sweet Home: The Retrievers are 22-5 and batting .324 as a team inside the friendly confines of UMBC Softball Stadium this season. Junior first baseman/pitcher Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) is batting .476 (39-for-82) with 14 extra-base hits and 26 RBI at home, while Brummell is hitting .391 (36-for-92) with 17 extra-base hits and 22 runs scored and sophomore first baseman Lauren O’Malley (Pasadena, Md./Archbishop Spalding) is batting .351 (26-for-74) with 14 RBI. On the mound, Weigman is 13-3 with a 2.06 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 108.2 innings of work.

Extra, Extra: The Retrievers’ 12-inning 8-7 victory over Binghamton on April 8 was the third-longest game in UMBC history. The Retrievers defeated Boston University, 6-5, in 16 innings on April 4, 2005, and lost to Maine, 3-1, in 13 frames on March 31, 2007. All three epic contests were the opening game of a doubleheader, and all took place at UMBC Softball Stadium.

Records Watch: Fefel and Weigman are both climbing UMBC’s all-time top 10 lists. Here is a look at where they stand:

Amanda Fefel                                                             Stephanie Weigman

Hitting                                                                         Strikeouts – 3rd, 367

Home Runs – 4th, 29                                                    Wins – 6th, 31

Slugging Percentage – 4th, .583                                    Appearances – 6th, 68

On-Base Percentage – 8th, .394                                   Innings Pitched – 7th, 351.0

Extra-Base Hits – T-8th, 51                                          Games Started – 7th, 49

RBI – 9th, 105                                                             Complete Games – 7th, 34

Total Bases – 10th, 268

Batting Average – 10th, .339

Pitching

Saves – T-3rd, 4

Strikeouts – 7th, 214

Appearances – 8th, 62

Wins – 10th, 26

Climbing the Season Ranks: Weigman has also been climbing UMBC’s single-season top-10 lists in 2009 and has a chance to break a number of records. Here is a look at where she stands:

Category                  Weigman’s Total/Rank      Single-Season Leader      Record

Strikeouts                  226/1st                                  Stephanie Weigman            226

Innings Pitched          187.0/1st                               Stephanie Weigman            187.0

Complete Games       22/T-2nd                               Crystal Ray                        23

Appearances             34/T-2nd                               Angie Amedro                    38

Saves                        2/T-4th                                  Three tied with                    3

Wins                         17/5th                                   Lauren Nicholson               19

Games Started           26/5th                                   L. Moy/L. Nicholson          28

Power Surge: A total of 11 different Retrievers have combined to hit 38 home runs this season, marking just the second time in school history that as many as 10 different players have gone yard. The Retrievers set a school record with 14 in 2006 on their way to 80 bombs on the season, another school mark. UMBC ranks 34th in the nation in home runs per game this season (0.9).

Coming Through in the Clutch: The Retrievers are hitting .334 with runners in scoring position, including .393 with the bases loaded and .538 with a runner on third base and less than two outs. In addition, with two outs in the inning, UMBC is batting .273 with 79 RBI, led by Weller’s 15 two-out RBI.

The Difference a Year Makes: Through 44 games, the Retrievers have already surpassed several of last season’s totals, which were accumulated in 10 more contests. Here is a look at where the 2009 UMBC squad compares to its 2008 counterpart:

Category                  2009 Total                           2008 Total                        Difference

Wins                         27                                         25                                      +2

Runs                          220                                       206                                    +14

Doubles                     70                                         55                                      +15

In addition, as a team, the Retrievers are hitting .27 points better in 2009 (.286) than 2008 (.259) and slugging .57 points better (.456 to .399).