ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany softball team is set for its final regular-season road series.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
UAlbany at UMass Lowell
SITE: River View Field - Lowell, Mass.
RECORDS: UAlbany 17-16, 7-5 America East | UMass Lowell 17-24-1, 5-9 America East
SERIES RECORD: 20-18, UAlbany leads
STATS: GoRiverHawks.com
 
DATE: Sunday, April 28
TIME: 2:00 PM (DH)
STREAM: AE.TV
 
DATE: Saturday, April 29
TIME: 12:00 PM
STREAM: AE.TV
 
*records as of 4/27
 
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) before seeing that same record against UMBC (Apr. 15-16)..
• Adding two midweek doubleheaders, UAlbany split both at Army (4.5) and against Syracuse (4.12).
• Most recently, the Great Danes went 3-1 with two doubleheaders throughout the week of April 17. After splitting at Hartford (4.20), UAlbany swept Bryant with two five-inning shutout victories (4.22).

 
AT THE PLATE

• Starting all 33 games, senior Morgan Petty leads the team with a .402 batting average from a team-high 41 hits, including five doubles, four triples, and six home runs, for 30 RBI.
• Senior Caitlyn Mitros follows with a .343 batting average.
• Leading with seven doubles and 26 runs, junior Jordan Nastos also owns 22 RBI with a runner-up 37 hits, including three home runs.
• Senior Maddi Petrella follows Petty with 23 RBI and four home runs.
• In addition to Petty, Petrella, and Nastos, sophomore Sierra Fretz has hit four home runs for UAlbany.
• Four Great Danes have totaled at least one double, one triple, and one home run - Petty (five 2B, four 3B, and six HR), Fretz (four 2B, one 3B, and four HR), Petrella (two 2B, one 3B, and four HR), and Nastos (seven 2B, one 3B, and three HR). 
• Senior Caitlyn Mitros has hit two triples with senior Wendi Hammond and freshman Deanna Grahek adding one triple each.
• Grahek (4), graduate student Chloe Lewis (3), Hammond (2), senior Ossman (2), Mitros (1), freshman Sara Anderson (1), freshman Kasey Conn (1), and redshirt-freshman Maya Thompson (1) round out the multi-base hits with their respective totals in doubles.

 
IN THE FIELD

• Chloe Lewis leads the defense with 160 putouts.
• Deanna Grahek leads with 59 assists with Sara Anderson (48) and Jordan Nastos close behind.
• Ten Great Danes have contributed to at least one double-play. Grahek leads with 12 and Lewis follows with nine. Jordan Nastos has six and Sierra Fretz and Anderson have four each while Maddi Petrella and redshirt-sophomore Kate Powers have tallied two each. Wendi Hammond, Maya Thompson, 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 118.0 innings pitched and 63 strikeouts. She has pitched 13 complete games, including four shutouts, with 19 starts for a 2.97 ERA and an 10-8 record in the circle. Most recently, she pitched a complete-game shutout in which she struck out a season-high nine batters and allowed just one hit and one walk against Bryant.
• Powers saw her first collegiate no-hitter in a six-inning victory over Maine. In total, she has pitched 63.2 innings with 35 strikeouts in five complete games for a 6-4 record in the circle. Most recently, she pitched a complete-game shutout in which she allowed just two hits and one walk against Bryant.
• Sophomore Amelia Freitas has totaled two starts while pitching 20.2 innings for a 1-2 record in the circle.
• Lewis and senior Adian Sheeren have a combined 12.2 IP and six strikeouts.

 
2023 AMERICA EAST WEEKLY AWARDS

• Player of the Week
  • Sierra Fretz - March 21
  • Morgan Petty - April 25
• Pitcher of the Week
  • Kate Powers - April 4
• Rookie of the Week
  • Sara Anderson - March 21

 
ABOUT UMASS LOWELL

• The River Hawks are 17-24-1 on the season with a 5-9 conference record.
• UML earned their first win with the tournament-opening game at the Hampton/Norfolk State Invitational (Fe. 16-19) after going 0-4 at the Kickin' Chicken Classic (Feb. 9-10).
• Spending four days in Louisiana, the River Hawks added four wins, three losses, and one tie (Mar. 4-8).
• Before winning a single game against UMass (3.22), UMass Lowell saw their final tournament, Rutgers Tournament, for a 2-3 weekend (Mar. 17-19).
• The River Hawks closed out March with a doubleheader sweep from UAlbany (3.22) and two doubleheader splits against Merrimack (3.29) and Bryant (3.31).
• Opening April with a shutout victory over Bryant (4.2), UML fell in a doubleheader to Boston University (4.4).
• With three-straight conference series, UMass Lowell went 1-2 against UMBC (Apr. 7-8), 2-1 at Maine (Apr. 15-16), and 0-3 at Binghamton (Apr. 21-22). 
• Most recently, the River Hawks earned two victories in a doubleheader against Stonehill (4.25).
• Morgan Fisher leads with a .315 batting average from 39 hits, including eight doubles and two home runs, for 31 RBI.
• Cayla Tulley owns a team-high seven home runs with 30 RBI from 36 hits, including eight doubles and a team-high two triples.
• Mya Case follows with six home runs and 23 RBI while Elizabeth Frederick has added six home runs.
• In the circle, two pitchers have totaled at least 40 innings pitched. Giana LaCedra has seen a team-high 99.1 innings pitched with nine complete games and 14 starts but Ryley White leads with 81 strikeouts, a 2.04 ERA, and five shutouts. Both LaCedra and White have a winning record in the circle.
• In the field, Katelyn Fitzgerald owns a team-high 172 putouts and Case leads with 84 assists.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE RIVER HAWKS

• The Great Danes lead the all-time series, 20-18.
• During the 2022 season, the Great Danes won the regular season series, 2-1.
• After winning a one-run game, 2-1, for game one of the Saturday doubleheader, the River Hawks took game two, 10-7, on April 23. 
• UAlbany won the series with a 4-1 victory on April 24. The Great Danes' final run was a homer from Maddi Petrella.
• In the 2022 America East Championship Tournament, UAlbany defeated UMass Lowell twice. 
• After a first-round bye, UAlbany took a second-round win, 6-5, over the River Hawks before defeating UML, 5-3, in the final elimination game on May 13. Petrella hit the lone homer in the final elimination game.
• Earlier in 2023, the Great Danes swept the River Hawks in a doubleheader to open the conference season (3.26). Game one was a nine-inning thriller with a 7-6 final score and UAlbany closed the second, 8-4, in seven innings.

 
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

• UMBC holds a slight lead with a 12-2 record.
• Binghamton follows closely with 10 wins and four losses.
• UAlbany rounds out the teams with a winning record - 7-5.
• UMass Lowell is in fourth place with a 5-9 record.
• Maine and Bryant are tied with three wins and 10 losses.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Friday
  • UAlbany at UMass Lowell, 2 pm (DH)
• Saturday
  • UAlbany at UMass Lowell, 12 pm
  • Binghamton at Maine, 12 pm (DH)
  • UMBC at Bryant, 1 pm (DH)
• Sunday
  • Binghamton at Maine, 11 am
  • UMBC at Bryant, 12 pm

 
UP NEXT

• The Great Danes will return home for their final home series of 2023 - Binghamton (May 5-6).

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