ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany softball returns to action with a doubleheader at CCSU on Wednesday, March 10 at 1:00 p.m.
 
Game Info
Wednesday, March 10 vs. CCSU (Doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.)
Live Stats

Leading the Pack

• Madison Petrella and Morgan Petty both ranked top-eight in batting average in the America East's shortened 2020 season
• UAlbany returns all-six players who appeared in all-11 games in 2020. Five of those six players started all-11 games
• Sophomore Wendi Hammond returns her America East sixth-best 3.36 ERA across six appearances (four starts) from last season
• Senior Kelly Barkevich was named 2020 America East Woman of the Year
• UAlbany had six previous games canceled and CCSU had five canceled as both teams enter the season opener

Scouting CCSU
Like UAlbany, CCSU scheduled the doubleheader amidst five game cancelations. The Blue Devils were scheduled to play Boston University March 6 and Holy Cross March 13 and 14 but all-five games were canceled. As a result, hosting UAlbany will mark CCSU's season-opener. The Blue Devils were selected sixth out of nine teams in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll and LIU led the voting with seven-of-eight first-place votes.
 
All-Time vs. CCSU
UAlbany has a 2-2 all-time record against CCSU, including 2-0 at home and 0-2 on the road. UAlbany won the last two games between the programs but have been outscored 28-17 in the four-game series. Only Kelly Barkevich, Miranda Jimenez and Katie Falotico remain from the starting lineup of the last meeting between the programs.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany only played 11 games in a shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In those 11 games, the Great Danes had a 6-5 record and finished the season on a two-game winning streak. UAlbany had a 3-2 record in their season-opening trip to the Spring Games in Madeira, Fla., followed by a 3-3 record at the Spring Games in Longwood, Fla. In their final regular season game, then-freshman Wendi Hammond pitched a complete game five-hit shutout in a 1-0 win over Loyola University. In the shortened season, UAlbany led the America East with a .268 team batting average and ranked second with a .334 on-base percentage. 
 
Around the America East
Stony Brook and UMBC are both off to 5-1 starts, while UMass Lowell is 2-2. UAlbany's scheduled doubleheader at CCSU will be their first games after six cancelations. Maine is scheduled to begin March 13 at Merrimack after a March 6 and 7 series at Army was canceled. Binghamton is scheduled to start on March 20 at St. Bonaventure and Hartford begins its conference-only schedule on March 27. Stony Brook was selected to win the America East, accumulating five first-place votes.
 
2020 America East Woman of the Year
Kelly Barkevich was named the 2020 America East Woman of the Year, awarded to the top senior student-athlete that distinguished herself on and off the field. Barkevich completed her undergraduate degree in three years in May 2019 and is currently in her second year of her master's program, studying Special Education & Literacy. She was the second-straight UAlbany student-athlete to earn the award, following UAlbany track & field's Tara Belinsky. 

After earning the America East award, Barkevich was named a NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee. She was one of only 161 total conference-level nominees, selected from a pool of 605 school-level nominees. She returns in 2021 after accumulating a .290 batting average, two home runs and seven RBIs across 11 games in a shortened 2020 season.

Run it Back
After a shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UAlbany lost just four players from last year's roster and added six new players to the 2021 roster. Of the departed players, none appeared in more than seven of the team's 11 games. Madison Petrella, Morgan Petty, Alexis Phillips, Lové Drumgole and Caitlyn Mitros started all-11 games and, along with Kelly Barkevich who stared 10 games, led the Great Danes in all offensive statistical categories. 
 
Picked Fourth
The University at Albany softball team was picked to finished fourth in the 2021 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Great Danes earned 20 points in fourth place and no first-place votes. Stony Brook sat atop the voting with 35 points and five first place votes, followed by UMass Lowell, 30, and UMBC, 26, as both programs each received one first place vote. 

Falotico and Petrella Earned 2020 America Weekly Awards
Katie Falotico and Madison Petrella were the only two softball players to earn in-season America East weekly honors in 2020. Falotico earned Player of the Week on March 3 for hitting .533 with three doubles, one home run and five RBIs at the Spring Games – Boombah Soldier's Creek. Petrella earned Rookie of the Week on Feb. 25 for hitting .571 with three doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs at the Spring Games.
 
Next: UAlbany is scheduled to visit Mount St. Mary's for two games on March 12 and 13 and then travel to Delaware for one game on March 14.