ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany softball team continues at home to host its southern conference opponent - UMBC.
 
On Sunday, April 16, the Great Danes will host a Mental Health Awareness game. In accordance with the theme, both teams will be wearing green ribbons throughout the game. The Hidden Opponent, a cause close to the hearts of many softball players, will also be at Sunday's contest to help spread awareness for student-athlete mental health. 
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
UMBC at UAlbany
SITE: UAlbany Field - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 13-13, 4-3 America East | UMBC 15-11, 7-1 America East
SERIES RECORD: 45-18, UAlbany leads
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
 
DATE: Saturday, April 15
TIME: 1:00 PM (DH)
STREAM: AE.TV
 
DATE: Sunday, April 16
TIME: 12:00 PM
STREAM: AE.TV
 
*records as of 4/14
 
GREAT DANE REWIND

• UAlbany opened the 2023 season in Conway, South Carolina at the Chanticleer Showdown (Feb. 24-26) before heading to the Spring Games at Madeira Beach (Mar. 3-5).
• In a slow start to the season, the Great Danes tallied a 1-4 record at Coastal Carolina. Earning a win over Mount St. Mary's (2.25), UAlbany fell twice to host Coastal Carolina and Saint Joseph's.
• At the Spring Games, the Great Danes worked for two shutout wins over LIU (3.3) and Georgetown (3.4) but fell to Southeastern Louisiana (3.3), Creighton (3.4), and MTSU (3.5).
• In their final tournament of the season (Mar. 18-19), UAlbany went 2-1 with wins over Lafayette and a loss to the host, Mount St. Mary's.
• Returning home, the Great Danes hosted Siena (3.22) for a doubleheader sweep. 
• UAlbany opened conference play with a doubleheader sweep over UMass Lowell (3.26) before splitting a doubleheader at Maine (3.31)
• Continuing conference play, the Great Danes fell 1-2 in a three-game series at Binghamton (Apr. 8-9).
• Adding two midweek doubleheaders, UAlbany split both at Army (4.5) and against Syracuse (4.12).

 
AT THE PLATE

• Starting all 22 games, senior Morgan Petty owns a team-high 33 hits, including four home runs and five doubles for 20 RBI, to lead the team with a .398 batting average.
• Freshman Sara Anderson follows with a .357 batting average in 19 starts.
• Junior Jordan Nastos ties Petty with five doubles and 20 RBI while following with three home runs and 29 hits.
• In addition to Nastos and Petty, sophomore Sierra Fretz and senior Maddi Petrella have totaled two homers each.
• Three Great Danes have totaled at least one double, one triple, and one home run - Petty (five 2B, one 3B, and four HR), Fretz (four 2B, one 3B, and two HR), and Petrella (one 2B, one 3B, and two HR). 
• Seniors Caitlyn Mitros and senior Wendi Hammond have added one triple each while freshman Deanna Grahek (4), graduate student Chloe Lewis (3), and senior Schuyler Ossman (2) own multiple doubles with their respective totals.

 
IN THE FIELD

• Chloe Lewis leads the defense with 121 putouts.
• Deanna Grahek leads with 47 assists with Jordan Nastos (43) and Sara Anderson (40) close behind.
• Nine Great Danes have contributed to at least one double-play. Grahek leads with 11 and Lewis follows with seven. Jordan Nastos has six and Sierra Fretz has four, while Maddi Petrella and Anderson have tallied two each. Wendi Hammond, redshirt-sophomore Kate Powers, and sophomore Christie Collins round it out with one each.
• All five Great Dane pitchers have seen the circle.
• Hammond has seen the most time with 96.0 innings pitched and 45 strikeouts. She has pitched 11 complete games, including three shutouts, with 15 starts for a 2.77 ERA and an 8-7 record in the circle.
• Powers saw her first collegiate no-hitter in a six-inning victory over Maine. In total, she has pitched 43.2 innings with 25 strikeouts in four complete games for a 4-2 record in the circle.
• Sophomore Amelia Freitas has totaled two starts while pitching 19.0 innings for a 1-2 record in the circle.
• Lewis and senior Adian Sheeren have a combined 12.1 IP and six strikeouts.

 
2023 AMERICA EAST WEEKLY AWARDS

• Player of the Week
  • Sierra Fretz - March 21
• Pitcher of the Week
  • Kate Powers - April 4
• Rookie of the Week
  • Sara Anderson - March 21

 
ABOUT UMBC

• The Retrievers are 15-11 on the season with a 7-1 conference record.
• Starting the season at home with two Round Robins (Feb. 18-19, Feb. 25-26), UMBC continued play hosting the Retriever Classic (Mar. 10-12) after a single-game win against Mount St. Mary's (3.8).
• After their final tournament - the Penn State Invitational - UMBC held an 8-7 record.
• Seeing two midweek games against Coppin State (3.22) and Hofstra (3.23), the Retrievers fell to 8-9.
• Opening conference play against Bryant, UMBC started what ended as a six-game win streak with victories over Bryant (3.26 DH), Binghamton (4.1, 4.2 DH), and UMass Lowell (4.7).
• Most recently, Towson (4.12) took a win over the Retrievers after UMBC won the conference series, 2-1, over UMass Lowell (Apr. 7-8).
• Lyndsey Evix leads in the batter's box with a .333 batting average in 18 starts but Ashley Della Guardia tops the Retrievers with 16 RBI, five home runs, and five doubles.
• Leading with 24 hits, Karly Keating is tied with Della Guardia with five doubles.
• Pitching close to 100 innings, Kya Matter leads in the circle. Pitching for a 1.36 ERA, the sophomore has totaled 96 strikeouts in 92.2 innings with eight complete games, two shutouts, and a 9-4 record.
• Courtney Coppersmith follows with 57 strikeouts in 37.1 innings. The fifth year has pitched one complete game, three saves, and holds a 2-1 record in the circle with a 3.00 ERA.
• In the field, two players lead with over 100 putouts - Evix (134) and Della Guardia (117). Shanel Stott owns a team-high 32 assists.
• As a team, the Retrievers have notched three double plays.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE RETRIEVERS

• The Great Danes lead the all-time series, 45-18.
• UAlbany and UMBC met five times throughout the 2022 season.
• In their regular-season series (Apr. 2-3), the Retrievers took two wins after the Great Danes snapped their 13-game win streak with a 3-2 victory. 
• As a team, UAlbany tallied two home runs in their regular-season win.
• The teams met twice during the America East Championship Tournament. UMBC took the win in both the winner's bracket championship (5.13) and the final championship game (5.14).

 
PICKED THIRD

• The Great Danes were picked to finish third in the 2023 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll. 
• UAlbany tallied 17 points and no first-place votes.
• UMBC topped the poll with 35 points and five first-place votes while UMass Lowell followed with 20 points and one first-place vote. 
• Binghamton, with 16 points, grabbed the final first-place vote. Bryant and Maine tied for fifth with seven points.

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• After three weekends of conference play, UMBC holds a strong lead with a 7-1 record.
• UAlbany follows as the only remaining team with a winning conference record - 4-3.
• Binghamton sits even at .500 with four wins and four losses.
• UMass Lowell and Bryant are tied with a 3-5 record.
• Maine (2-6) rounds out the conference.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Saturday
  • UMass Lowell at Maine, 12 pm (DH)
  • UMBC at UAlbany, 1 pm (DH)
  • Binghamton at Bryant, 1 pm (DH)
• Sunday
  • UMass Lowell at Maine, 11 am
  • UMBC at UAlbany, 12 pm
  • Binghamton at Bryant, 12 pm

 
UP NEXT

• The Great Danes will head on the road for a doubleheader at Hartford (4.20).

 
For more information on the University at Albany softball team, follow the squad's official social media accounts shown below.
Twitter - @ualbanysb
Instagram - @ualbanysb