ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany softball team enters the 2021 America East Championship as the No. 2 seed. The team is set to start postseason play on Thursday against rival and No. 3 seed Stony Brook. The tournament includes a double elimination format featuring the conference's top four teams – No. 1 UMBC, No. 2 UAlbany, No. 3 Stony Brook, and No. 4 UMass Lowell. The entire tournament takes place from May 13-15, with all games being hosted by top-seeded UMBC.

Game Info              
Thursday, May 13 vs. No. 3 Stony Brook – 3:30 p.m. (The Diamond at UMBC in Baltimore, Md.)
Live Stats | americaeast.tv | Championship Central

Leading the Pack

• The Great Danes come into the America East Tournament with the conference's highest-powered offense. The team leads the America East in batting average (.294), runs (218), hits (318), RBIs (203), slugging percentage (.473), and homeruns (44).
• UAlbany ran away with the conference homerun title this season, sending 44 longballs over the fence. The Great Danes essentially doubled the total of the next highest team on the conference list, Stony Brook, which sent 23 out of the park.
• Four Great Danes rank in the top six in homerun totals. Kelly Barkevich (9) ranks second in the conference, Morgan Petty (8) ranks third, and Madison Petrella and Katie Falotico (7) rank tied for fourth.
• Sophomore outfielder Caitlyn Mitros has enjoyed a successful season at the plate, batting .396 in 38 games. That mark puts her second in the entire conference, behind only Hartford's Rocheleau – who has appeared in only 19 games. In 101 at bats, Mitros has 40 hits, which ranks third in the America East, with nine RBIs. She has walked 10 times, collected two doubles, and has accounted for 19 runs.
• Petty has shown her wheels this year, leading the conference with six triples. She is batting .302 with 39 hits, 30 runs, five doubles, and the previously mentioned six triples and eight homeruns.
• Pitching, the Great Danes finished sixth in the conference with a 3.88 ERA over 39 games. UAlbany ranks fourth in opponent batting average, with competitors batting .249.
• Sophomore pitcher Wendi Hammond has been solid in the circle this season, leading the team with a 2.45 ERA. That mark puts her sixth overall in the conference. She has tossed 117.0 innings, third most of any pitcher, earning a record of 10-4. She has given up just 41 earned runs on an even 100 hits. For every hit she has given up, she has matched with a strikeout – striking out an even 100 batters as well.

Scouting Stony Brook
After starting the season 9-1 in conference play, the Seawolves dropped five of their final six America East contests to end the season. Those losses include a three-game sweep from UAlbany, and a 2-1 series loss to top seed UMBC. The Retrievers defeated Stony Brook in the final game of the season by a final score of 4-1 in a "winner-take-all" for hosting rights for the America East Tournament. The Seawolves are batting .262, ranking third in the conference, and have collected 280 hits – 68 of which have gone for extra basses. Their 23 homeruns this season rank second only to UAlbany. The Seawolves' strong suit comes in the circle, where the team has dominated opposing batters. They lead the conference with a team ERA of 1.96, holding opposing hitters to a batting average of just .192.

Last Time vs. Stony Brook
The Great Danes took full advantage of their previous matchup with Stony Brook just two weeks ago, winning all three games to close out the 2021 home schedule. Before the series, Stony Brook had a commanding lead in the America East standings – having only lost one conference game. Strong pitching and timely hits got the job done for UAlbany, winning 6-2, 2-0, and 3-1. Pitchers Wendi Hammond and Briana Garrett led the way in the circle. On the weekend, Hammond threw 12.0 innings and allowed just one earned one, and Garrett tossed 10.0 innings while allowing just two earned runs.

Last Time Out
UAlbany closed out the 2021 regular season with a three-game sweep of Maine up in Orono. The Greta Danes won 2-0, 8-3, and 2-0. With the final win of the series, UAlbany collected its ninth-straight America East victory and capped its third-consecutive series sweep. The last conference loss the Great Danes suffered came at the hands of UMBC back on April 18. With the final victories of the 2021 regular season, UAlbany secured the No. 2 seed in this week's America East Tournament. Wendi Hammond was named the America East Pitcher of the Week for her efforts, starting two games while tossing 15 innings without allowing an earned run. She gave up just six hits and a walk while striking out 12.

Around the America East 
All four teams are in action on Thursday to kick off postseason play. No. 1 UMBC faces off against No. 4 UMass Lowell (Game 1), while No. 2 UAlbany and No. 3 Stony Brook battle immediately after (Game 2). The winners of the opening round will play Friday at 11:00 a.m. (Game 3), the losers play the same day at 1:30 p.m. (Game 4). The winner of game three will move to the championship series, while the loser of game 3 will face the winner of game four. That matchup (Game 5) will take place Friday at 4:00 p.m. and will determine the second finalist for the championship series. Championship action kicks off Saturday at 12:00 p.m. (Game 6), with a game two at 2:30 p.m. if necessary (Game 7). The losers' bracket representative will have to win two games to claim the 2021 America East Championship.

• Game 1 – No. 1 UMBC vs. No. 4 UMass Lowell, 1:00 p.m. Thursday, May 13.
• Game 2 – No. 2 UAlbany vs. No.3 Stony Brook, 3:30 p.m. Thursday, May 13.

 
All-Conference Conquerors
The America East announced Wednesday afternoon that the University at Albany received 11 All-Conference selections for the 2021 season. Seven different Great Danes received recognition in the announcement. First Team All-Conference selections included Katie Falotico, Caitlyn Mitros, and Maranda Jimenez. Second Team selections included Wendi Hammond and Morgan Petty. Hammond, Mitros, Petty, and Madison Petrella were named to the conference's All-Rookie Team, while Falotico and Kelly Barkevich were named All-Academic Team selections.
 
Weekly Winners
Four different Great Danes have won America East weekly accolades this year. Player of the Week awards have been won by Kelly Barkevich (3/22), Maranda Jimenez (4/12), and Lové Drumgole (4/27), while Wendi Hammond was named Pitcher of the Week to close out the regular season (5/10).
 
Showing Strength
On April 26, Kelly Barkevich was recognized by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) as a 2021 All-American Athlete award recipient. The award recognizes Barkevich's athletic accomplishments and her dedication to strength and conditioning. It was that "Barkevich's determination to improve in athletics while maintaining academic prominence is a great model for all student-athletes at the university."
 
Senior Sendoff
In UAlbany's final home game of the season, a 3-1 victory over Stony Brook, the team recognized the member of the class of 2020 – Kelly Barkevich and Amanda Mosall. Barkevich is currently working towards a master's in special education, while Mosall graduated last year while majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology.
 
Cannata's Corner
Coach Chris Cannata is completing her 27^th year with the UAlbany softball program. During her tenure, she has won seven America East Tournament titles (2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2017, 2018) and her teams have been crowned regular season champions six times (2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2018). She is the winningest coach in UAlbany history and has been named America East Coach of the Year on five separate occasions.