UMBC

Lauren Brummell

Julia Culotta

Lauren O'Malley

BALTIMORE—UMBC head softball coach Joe French recently announced the Retrievers’ 2011 schedule, which includes four tournaments and games against a number of regional foes. The season begins Feb. 22 with a home game against cross-town rival Towson.

UMBC will next travel to the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament Feb. 25-27, where they will face Eastern Michigan, Southern Illinois, Iowa and Saint Francis (Pa.).

The Retrievers will host three straight tournaments, beginning with the UMBC Retriever Classic (March 4-6) with Iona, Mount St. Mary’s, Princeton and Siena. The next week is the Seventh Annual UMBC Dawg Pound Invitational (March 11-13) with Brown, Canisius, Drexel, Lafayette and Morgan State; Coppin State will co-host the tournament. Finally, the Ninth Annual UMBC Spring Classic (March 18-20) will feature Brown, Niagara, Morgan State and St. Francis (Pa.).

Highlights of the non-conference slate include home games against Delaware (March 9), George Mason (March 16), Temple (March 22) and Rhode Island (March 23), and road trips to George Washington (March 1), Georgetown (April 5), Mount St. Mary’s (April 12), La Salle (April 26) and Longwood (May 7). The Retrievers will also face East Carolina on May 7 in Farmville, Va.

America East Conference play begins March 26-27 with a three-game home series against 2010 league tournament qualifier Maine. The Retrievers also host Binghamton (April 16-17) and Hartford (April 30-May 1), while UMBC will travel to 2010 America East runner-up Stony Brook (April 2-3), two-time defending champion Boston University (April 9-10) and tournament qualifier Albany (April 22-23).

The four-team America East Championships will take place May 12-14 at the home field of the No. 1 seed. The Retrievers missed the tournament last season for the first time since 2005 but finished the year with a 25-24 overall mark.

Retrievers Name Captains: French today named seniors Lauren Brummell, Julia Culotta and Lauren O'Malley as team co-captains for the 2011 season.

Brummell, a second baseman, batted .286 with 17 extra-base hits in 2010 and ranks among UMBC’s all-time leaders in doubles, triples and extra-base hits. Center fielder Culotta’s 12 career home runs rank 11th all-time at UMBC, and O’Malley, an America East all-conference designated player in 2010, has never batted below .300 in her first three collegiate seasons.

“Over the years, each one of these players has proven to be not only a good softball player, but more importantly a quality student-athlete by performing in the classroom, on the field and also in numerous leadership activities,” French said. “It was very apparent to the coaching staff this fall that the team reacted to and followed the lead of these three players.”

Winter Clinic Details: UMBC’s annual winter indoor clinic for girls ages 7-18 will take place on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011, at the Retriever Activities Center (RAC) from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The cost of the clinic is $45 in advance or $50 at the door, with group rates available for five or more participants.

This is the 10th year that Coach French and his team will conduct the winter clinic, which will provide hitting, pitching and fielding instruction by French, assistant coach Jill Dorsch and the 2011 Retrievers, as well as guest instructors.

Bull Roast Set for Jan. 29: The Third Annual “Friends of UMBC Softball” Bull and Oyster Roast will take place on Saturday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m. at UAW Hall in Baltimore. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased by contacting any UMBC player or parent, or Coach Dorsch at 410-455-5556 or jilliand@umbc.edu.

The evening includes a great food and drink, games of chance, a silent auction, door prizes and an introduction of the 2011 Retrievers.

French's 500th: French was honored by the National Fast Pitch Coaches Assocation (NFCA) Easton Victory Club for his 500th career victory as a head softball coach, which he achieved March 9 at Delaware. French, who is UMBC's all-time winningest softball coach with a 302-220-1 record in nine seasons, now stands at 516-329-1 in 17 seasons overall.