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News Release

Softball Hosts Hartford in Regular-Season Finale with Playoff Berth on the Line; Retrievers to Honor Three Seniors on Sunday

5/1/2009

Alison Duff

Krista Kearns

Randi Willey

BALTIMORE—The UMBC softball team (32-19, 10-8 AEC) concludes its regular season this weekend with a three-game series against America East rival Hartford (19-20, 9-7 AEC) at UMBC Softball Stadium with a berth in the America East Championships at stake. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m., and there will be free hot dogs for all fans between games, while Sunday’s single game will start at 12 p.m. The Retrievers will celebrate Senior Day with a pregame ceremony prior to the series finale.

Senior Salute: Before Sunday’s series finale against the Hawks, the Retrievers will bid farewell to three seniors – third baseman Krista Kearns (Santa Fe Springs, Calif./Santa Fe), designated player Alison Duff (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport/Monroe CC) and outfielder Randi Willey (Millersville, Md./Old Mill/Bowie State).

Where They Stand: At 10-8, UMBC is tied with Maine for fifth place in the America East standings, just percentage points behind Hartford (9-7). The Retrievers will clinch a spot in the four-team America East Championships by sweeping the Hawks this weekend. UMBC will also advance to the playoffs with two wins against Hartford if Maine loses at least once at Vermont this weekend. The double-elimination tournament is set for May 7-9 at the home field of the No. 1 seed. Stony Brook (13-4) is the only team to punch its ticket so far, while Boston University (12-5) and Albany (11-5) are in the chase, as well.

On the Hawks: Hartford is 19-20 on the season and 9-7 in America East play. The Hawks are coming off a doubleheader split with Central Connecticut State on Thursday. Outfielder Amanda Sais is batting a team-best .322 with 23 runs scored, while catcher/first baseman Ann Kyzer leads Hartford with 26 RBI and outfielder Kristen Cericola has hit a team-high five home runs. Brittany Stratton leads the Hawks in the circle with a 14-9 record and a 2.01 ERA with 146 strikeouts in 153.1 innings of work.

UMBC vs. Hartford All-Time: The Retrievers lead the all-time series, 9-8, and have won five straight meetings, including a series sweep last season in Hartford. As America East rivals, the teams have met at least three times a year since UMBC joined the league in 2004, but they never met prior.

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 last Wednesday. She broke a tie with current pitching coach Lauren Nicholson, who set the previous mark at 19 as a senior in 2006.

Weigman’s Whiffs: Weigman is also the first Retriever ever to fan 200 batters in one season, and she now has 265 strikeouts in 223 innings for a ratio of 8.32 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 406, just 16 shy of Crystal Ray’s school record of 422. Weigman entered the week ranking 12th in the nation in strikeouts this season.

UMBC Career Strikeouts

1. Crystal Ray, 422, 1998-2000
2. Stephanie Weigman, 406, 2008-Present
3. Lauren Nicholson, 387, 2003-06

Going the Distance: Weigman has pitched 27 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 78 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 (0.37), while UMBC ranked 20th as a team (1.53). 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’s school record of 19 in 2007.

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 last 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 .400 (16-for-40) in 15 America East Conference games this season, the sixth-best mark in the league. During her current six-game hitting streak, Thompson is batting .474 (9-for-19), and she raised her average more than 0.70 points since April 5, from .224 to .297 heading into the weekend.

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 (.385) and Brummell (.363) rank fourth and eighth, respectively, in batting average in the America East. Fefel also leads the league with 41 RBI, while Brummell is tops with 18 doubles.

Top Dawg: UMBC leads the America East in runs (246), hits (385), doubles (78) and home runs (44) and ranks second in team batting average (.284).

Century Mark: Brummell and Kearns are both nearing their 100th career hits. Brummell currently has 95 base knocks, while Kearns has 94.

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, 406

Home Runs – T-2nd, 30                                               Saves – T-5th, 3

Slugging Percentage – 4th, .579                                    Wins – 6th, 34

Extra-Base Hits – 8th, 53                                             Innings Pitched – 6th, 387.0

RBI – 9th, 109                                                             Appearances – 6th, 74

On-Base Percentage – 9th, .392                                   Complete Games – T-6th, 39

Total Bases – 10th, 278                                                Games Started – 7th, 54

Batting Average – 10th, .338                                        ERA – 8th, 2.42

Pitching

Saves – T-3rd, 4

Strikeouts – 6th, 223

Appearances – 8th, 64

Games Started – T-9th, 44

Wins – 10th, 28

Power Surge: A total of 11 different Retrievers have combined to hit 44 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 39th in the nation in home runs per game this season (0.86).

The Difference a Year Makes: Through 51 games, the Retrievers have already surpassed several of last season’s totals, 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                         32                                         25                                      +7

Runs                          246                                       206                                    +40

Hits                           385                                       369                                    +16

Doubles                     78                                         55                                      +23

Home Runs               44                                         40                                      +4

RBI                           220                                       192                                    +28

Total Bases               609                                       568                                    +41

Walks                       137                                       135                                    +2

In addition, as a team, the Retrievers are hitting 0.25 points better in 2009 (.284) than 2008 (.259) and slugging 0.50 points better (.339 to .399).

Coming Through in the Clutch: The Retrievers are hitting .319 with runners in scoring position – led by Fefel (.491) – and .377 with the bases loaded. In addition, with two outs in the inning, UMBC is batting .278 with 91 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.