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News Release

Softball Faces Big Test Against Defending America East Champ Stony Brook This Weekend

4/24/2009


Emily Thompson has six hits in her last 10 at-bats.

BALTIMORE—Winners of four in a row and nine of its last 12 games, the UMBC softball team (31-17, 9-6 AEC) heads north this weekend for a three-game series at league-leading and defending America East champion Stony Brook (30-10, 11-3 AEC). Saturday’s doubleheader is slated to begin at 12 p.m., while Sunday’s game will also begin at 12 p.m.

 

On the Seawolves: Stony Brook is 30-10 on the season and 11-3 in America East play. The Seawolves are coming off an 8-0 six-inning loss at Hofstra on Thursday. Stony Brook is batting .309 as a team with six players hitting better than .300, led by outfielder Kelsi Fanelli (.391) and shortstop Vicki Kavitsky (.377), the reigning America East Player of the Week. Catcher/first baseman Melissa Fleury leads the Seawolves with 12 home runs and 36 RBI, while Fanelli and Kavitsky have combined to steal 31 bases. Alyssa Struzenberg, the reigning America East Pitcher of the Year, has posted a 17-4 record and a 1.89 ERA with 185 strikeouts in 133.0 innings.

 

UMBC vs. Stony Brook All-Time: The Retrievers lead the all-time series, 9-8, and have won five of the last seven meetings, but Stony Brook won two of three last season in Baltimore. As America East rivals, the teams have met three times a year since the Retrievers joined the league in 2004, and they met twice prior in the 2000 and 2001 Rebel Games. The Seawolves hold an 8-7 series lead in conference games.

 

20/20: Sophomore hurler Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) became the first Retriever ever to win 20 games in a season when she picked up the 6-1 victory over Binghamton on Wednesday. She broke a tie with current pitching coach Lauren Nicholson, who set the previous mark at 19 as a senior in 2006. Weigman entered the week ranking 25th in the NCAA in wins this season.

 

Weigman’s Whiffs: Last week, Weigman became the first Retriever ever to fan 200 batters in one season, and she now has 253 strikeouts in 209 innings for a ratio of 8.47 strikeouts per seven innings. After whiffing a Retriever freshman-record 141 batters last season, Weigman now ranks second all-time in UMBC history in career strikeouts with 394, just 28 shy of Crystal Ray’s school record of 422. Weigman entered the week ranking 11th in the nation in strikeouts this season.

 

UMBC Career Strikeouts

  1. Crystal Ray, 422, 1998-2000
  2. Stephanie Weigman, 394, 2008-Present
  3. Lauren Nicholson, 387, 2003-06

 

Going the Distance: Weigman has pitched 25 complete games this season, surpassing Crystal Ray’s previous school mark of 23, which was set in 2000. Weigman also became the first Retriever ever to pitch more than 200 innings in a season, breaking Linsi Moy’s school record of 182.2, which was set in 2002.

 

It Takes Two: The Retrievers have belted 77 doubles this season, led by sophomore second baseman Lauren Brummell (Hanover, Va./Hanover) with 18 and sophomore first baseman/outfielder Malorie Weller (Round Hill, Va./Loudoun Valley/Kennesaw State) with 13. Brummell entered the week ranking eighth in the NCAA in doubles per game (0.38), while UMBC ranked 19th as a team (1.6). Brummell’s 18 two-baggers are the most ever by a Retriever sophomore, surpassing Lisa Boone’s 14 in 2001, and they are tied for the second-highest single-season total in UMBC history, just one shy of former teammate Dana Shepherd.

 

UMBC Single-Season Doubles

  1. Dana Shepherd, 19, 2007
  2. Lauren Brummell, 18, 2009

Lisa Boone, 18, 2002

Bonnie Nevin, 18, 2002

 

30 Rock: Junior first baseman/pitcher Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) became the fourth Retriever ever to hit 30 home runs in her career when she launched a two-run shot in the first inning at Binghamton on Wednesday. She tied former teammates Melanie Denischuk and Reilly Ward for second on UMBC’s all-time list.

 

UMBC Career Home Runs

  1. Kristie Pickeral, 40, 2002-05
  2. Amanda Fefel, 30, 2007-Present

Reilly Ward, 30, 2004-07

Melanie Denischuk, 30, 2006-07

 

It’s Outta Here: With her home run against the Bearcats, Fefel also became the 12th Retriever ever to hit at least 10 home runs in a season, giving UMBC at least one player with a double-digit home run total in nine straight seasons. All 12 instances of 10 or more homers have occurred since 2001. Fefel’s 13 round-trippers in 2007 rank as the fourth-highest single-season total in school history.

 

On Fire: Junior third baseman/outfielder Emily Thompson (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) is batting .419 (13-for-31) in 12 America East Conference games, the sixth-best mark in the league. Thompson has 11 hits in her last 23 at-bats (.478) to raise her season batting average from .224 on April 5 to .293 heading into the weekend. She has been especially hot in her last three games, going 6-for-10 with a double and a home run.

 

Home Sweet Home: The Retrievers are 25-5 and batting .326 as a team inside the friendly confines of UMBC Softball Stadium this season. Fefel is hitting .467 (42-for-90) with 15 extra-base hits and 27 RBI at home, while Brummell is batting .390 (39-for-100) with 18 extra-base hits and 23 runs scored.

 

What a Pair: Fefel (.396) and Brummell (.368) rank fourth and sixth, respectively, in batting average in the America East. Fefel also leads the league with 40 RBI, while Brummell is tops with 18 doubles.

 

Top Dawg: UMBC leads the America East in runs (240), hits (369), doubles (77) and home runs (43) and ranks second in team batting average (.289).

 

Century Mark: Brummell and senior third baseman/outfielder Krista Kearns (Santa Fe Springs, Calif./Santa Fe) are both nearing their 100th career hit. Brummell currently has 93 base knocks, while Kearns has 91.

 

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 – 2nd, 394

Home Runs – T-2nd, 30                                               Appearances – 6th, 71

Slugging Percentage – 4th, .586                                    Wins – 6th, 34

Extra-Base Hits – 8th, 53                                             Games Started – 7th, 52

RBI – 9th, 108                                                             Innings – 7th, 373.0

On-Base Percentage – 9th, .393                                   Complete Games – 7th, 37

Total Bases – 10th, 276                                                ERA – 9th, 2.48

Batting Average – 10th, .340

Pitching

Saves – T-3rd, 4

Strikeouts – 7th, 215

Appearances – 8th, 63

Wins – 10th, 27

Games Started – T-10th, 43

 

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

 

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

Wins                         20/1st                                    Stephanie Weigman            20

Strikeouts                  253/1st                                  Stephanie Weigman            253

Complete Games       25/1st                                    Stephanie Weigman            25

Innings Pitched          209.0/1st                               Stephanie Weigman            209.0

Games Started           29/1st                                    Stephanie Weigman            29

Appearances             37/2nd                                  Angie Amedro                    38

Saves                        2/T-4th                                  Three tied with                    3

 

Power Surge: A total of 11 different Retrievers have combined to hit 43 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 38th in the nation in home runs per game this season (0.87).

 

The Difference a Year Makes: Through 48 games, the Retrievers have already surpassed several of last season’s total, which were accumulated in 54 contests. Here is a look at how the 2009 UMBC squad compares to its 2008 counterpart:

 

Category                  2009 Total                           2008 Total                        Difference

Wins                         31                                         25                                      +6

Runs                          240                                       206                                    +34

Doubles                     77                                         55                                      +22

Home Runs               43                                         40                                      +3

RBI                           215                                       192                                    +23

Total Bases               589                                       568                                    +21

 

In addition, as a team, the Retrievers are hitting 0.30 points better in 2009 (.289) than 2008 (.259) and slugging 0.62 points better (.461 to .399).

 

Coming Through in the Clutch: The Retrievers are hitting .324 with runners in scoring position, including .386 with the bases loaded and .520 with a runner on third base and less than two outs. In addition, with two outs in the inning, UMBC is batting .278 with 87 RBI, led by Weller’s 17 two-out RBI.

 

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.