UMBC

BALTIMORE—The UMBC softball team (15-12, 0-3 AE) travels to America East rival Binghamton (13-7, 1-2 AE) this weekend for a three-game series in hopes of snapping a five-game losing streak. The teams will play a doubleheader on Friday and a single game on Saturday, with action on both days beginning at 12 p.m. at the Bearcats’ East Gym Field.

Last Time Out: The Retrievers were swept by cross-town rival Towson Wednesday afternoon. The Tigers won the first game, 7-2, then took the nightcap, 4-3. Junior center fielder Julia Culotta (Street, Md./North Harford/Tennessee) hit a solo home run and two-run double, while sophomore left fielder Kaela Mason (Bel Air, Md./Harford Tech) also homered.

On the Bearcats: Binghamton is 13-7 on the season after a doubleheader sweep of Siena on Wednesday. The Bearcats have won 11 of their last 13 games and are off to their best start in nine years at the Division I level. Outfielder Jessica Phillips, the reigning America East Rookie of the Week, leads Binghamton with six doubles and seven home runs and is batting .323 with 16 RBI, while second baseman Stephanie Valencia is hitting a team-best .328. Catcher Deannie Plemon had driven in 18 runs while smashing six homers. Kristen Emerling has posted a 6-1 record and a team-best 1.33 ERA, while Rhoda Marstellar is 7-3 with a 1.81 ERA and 67 strikeouts.

Inside the Series: UMBC leads the all-time series, 19-6, and has won seven in a row. Junior second baseman Lauren Brummell (Hanover, Va./Hanover) is batting .346 with four extra-base hits in seven career games against the Bearcats, while senior third baseman Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) is hitting .433 with four home runs and 14 RBI in 10 games. In addition, junior Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) is 5-0 with a 1.19 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 35.1 innings of work spanning six appearances.

Comeback Kids: In each of the Retrievers’ last four wins, they have been trailing in the sixth inning or later and have rallied for the victory. Twice – in the sixth inning on March 21 against Mount St. Mary’s and in the seventh on March 24 at Temple – UMBC has scored seven runs in a single frame late in the contest, and its 3-2 win over Rhode Island on March 23 came on a walk-off single by sophomore third baseman Angela Yannone (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake).

Power Surge: Fefel tied UMBC’s single-game record with three home runs in the second game against Temple last Wednesday, equaling the mark set by Deanna Vecchio in 2002 and matched by Kristie Pickeral in 2004. She finished the week with five round-trippers in six games and now has 37 in her career, just three shy of Pickeral’s school record.

UMBC Career Home Runs

1.      Kristie Pickeral, 40, 2002-05

2.      Amanda Fefel, 37, 2007-Present

3.      Melanie Denischuk, 30, 2006-07

Reilly Ward, 30, 2004-07

Milestone Watch: Fefel is just five hits away from becoming the eighth Retriever ever to collect 200 in her career.

Climbing the Charts: Fefel also ranks among UMBC’s all-time leaders in a number of other categories, including RBI (T-3rd, 137), slugging percentage (4th, .588), total bases (5th, 339), extra-base hits (6th, 67), walks (7th, 60) and on-base percentage (8th, .399).

Weigman’s Whiffs: With eight strikeouts against Delaware on March 20, Weigman became the first pitcher in UMBC history to fan 500 batters in her career, and she now has over 100 more strikeouts than any other Retriever.

UMBC Career Strikeouts

1. Stephanie Weigman, 530, 2008-Present
2. Crystal Ray, 422, 1998-2000
3. Lauren Nicholson, 387, 2003-06
4. Amanda Fefel, 240, 2007-Present

Winning it All: Weigman is tied for second all-time at UMBC with 43 career wins, 14 behind current Retriever pitching coach Lauren Nicholson. In addition, Fefel became the eighth Retriever ever to win 30 games when she earned the victory against Mount St. Mary’s on March 21.

UMBC Career Wins

1. Lauren Nicholson, 57, 2003-06
2. Amy Sadowl, 43, 2003-06

Stephanie Weigman, 43, 2008-Present

Climbing the Charts: Weigman also ranks among UMBC’s all-time leaders in a number of other categories, including innings (2nd, 502.0), complete games (3rd, 51), games started (3rd, 72), appearances (4th, 94), saves (T-5th, 3), ERA (8th, 2.36) and shutouts (9th, 7).

Closing It Out: Fefel is UMBC’s all-time saves leader with eight in her career, and she has already broken the school mark for saves in a single season with four in 2010.

French Gets 500: UMBC’s second victory at Delaware on March 9 was the 500th of head coach Joe French’s career. French has coached for 17 years at three different schools, winning 95 games in four seasons at Mansfield University, 119 in four years at SUNY-Geneseo and 292 in nine years at UMBC. The Retrievers’ all-time winningest coach, he is just eight victories shy of 300 in black and gold.

Extra, Extra: The Retrievers have played five extra-inning games this season, the most since playing seven in 2005. UMBC is 3-2 in contests lasting longer than seven frames this year.