ALBANY, N.Y. - The UAlbany softball team is in Texas and ready for the NCAA Regional weekend.
The Great Danes will begin competition on May 17 against the host, Texas A&M. In addition to UAlbany, the Aggies are hosting Texas State and Penn State. Keep reading for the weekend's full schedule.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
NCAA Regionals
WHEN: May 17-19
SITE: Davis Diamond - College Station, Texas
TICKETS: Only single-day walk-up sales available.
FAN INFORMATION:
12thMan.com
UAlbany's First Contest
DATE: Friday, May 17
TIME: 5:30 pm CT (6:30 pm ET)
STATS:
NCAA.com
STREAM:
ESPN+
Competing Teams
Texas A&M: 40-13; 16th overall seed
Texas State: 45-13
Penn State: 34-18
UAlbany: 33-12
*records as of 5/16
Friday game notes (PDF) |
Saturday game notes (PDF)
GREAT DANE REWIND
- UAlbany is 33-12 and finished with a 14-6 America East record.
- Before beginning conference action, the Great Danes earned an 11-6 record.
- Starting league play at Maine (Mar. 30-31), UAlbany opened with three wins before adding a 2-1 record against UMBC (Apr. 4-6) in their first home series.
- After adding two wins in a doubleheader sweep at UMass Lowell (Apr. 9), Bryant swept the Great Danes in three contests (Apr. 13-14).
- Welcoming Binghamton to UAlbany Field (Apr. 20-21), the Great Danes went 2-1 against the Bearcats with two shutout wins.
- Closing out the conference season with two three-game series against opponents already seen, UAlbany went 2-1 at UMBC (Apr. 27-28), including a no-hitter, and swept Maine (May 3-4).
- The Great Danes tallied three consecutive sweeps over the Black Bears during senior weekend to earn the America East Regular Season Champion title.
- UAlbany has added five non-conference wins during conference play - at Providence (Apr. 18), doubleheader against Army (Apr. 23), against CCSU (Apr. 25), and at Colgate (May 1).
- The Great Danes went 3-0 at the America East Tournament for the first time since 2011. Defeating UMass Lowell (Second Round), Binghamton (Winner's Bracket Final), and UMass Lowell (Championship), UAlbany earned their first AE title since 2018.
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AT THE PLATE
- Graduate students Morgan Petty (.376) and Caitlyn Mitros (.371) lead the team with their respective batting averages.
- Graduate student Maddi Petrella (.356) is close behind while redshirt-junior Victoria Vilarchao (.304) and senior Jordan Nastos (.302) follow with batting averages above .300.
- Mitros owns a team-high with 53 hits while Petty and Petrella lead with nine home runs each.
- Compiling a team-high 22 extra-base hits (12 doubles, one triple, nine HR), Petrella also leads with 42 RBI on the season. Leading with 39 runs, Petty is behind her with 19 extra-base hits (nine doubles, one triple, nine HR) and 36 RBI.
- Freshman Mary Kate Murray follows both Petrella and Petty with 33 RBI from five home runs and five doubles. Redshirt-junior Victoria Vilarchao has added six home runs and six doubles for 29 RBI.
- Six Great Danes have hit at least one triple - sophomores Deanna Grahek and Kasey Conn, Nastos, Mitros, Petrella, and Petty. Mitros hit her second triple of the season during the AE Tournament.
IN THE CIRCLE
- Graduate student Wendi Hammond continues to serve as the Great Danes' starting pitcher.
- Finishing the regular season with a 1.98 ERA, Hammond now owns a 1.91 ERA three games later. She is ranked top-10 in the nation with 21 complete games, 24 wins, and eight shutouts. She adds top 50 numbers with 179.1 innings pitched and 27 starts while ranking 65th with her ERA and 98th with 129 strikeouts.
- Redshirt-junior Kate Powers follows with a 2.29 ERA, nine complete games, 91.2 innings pitched, nine wins, four of which are shutouts, and 45 strikeouts.
- Junior Dominique Prevette has pitched for nine strikeouts in 19.1 innings pitched.
- At the UMBC Spring Invite, Powers and Hammond combined for four complete games, including two shutouts and a no-hitter. Allowing just one earned run throughout the competition, Hammond ended the weekend with a 0.00 ERA while Powers tallied a 0.64 ERA.
- In their AE-opening series, Powers pitched a complete game shutout for just the second time this season. She allowed only one hit and one walk on her way to a 0.00 ERA in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.
- Against Binghamton, Hammond pitched two complete games for the series win. Pitching just two walks in 12.0 innings, Hammond tallied a 0.00 ERA against the Bearcats.
- At UMBC, Hammond pitched a no-hitter for her second of the season.
- In their home weekend against Maine, Hammond and Powers combined for three complete-game shutouts.
- During the AE Tournament, Hammond pitched all but two innings for a 1.24 ERA on the weekend. She struck out 12 and allowed five to walk with three runs throughout 17.0 innings in the circle.
MILESTONE MADNESS
- Throughout the course of this year, the Great Danes have hit several milestones both individually and as a team.
- First and foremost, head coach Chris Cannata ended her 30th regular season as the UAlbany head coach with an America East Regular Season Champion title.
- As a team, the Great Danes tallied 30 wins in the regular season for the first time since 2016.
- Individually, Wendi Hammond has had a breakout season in the circle. UAlbany's pitcher for the past five years, Hammond was voted by the conference's coaches to be the best pitcher in the AE and was named the Pitcher of the Year.
- Hitting several career milestones, she surpassed 400 strikeouts, 60 wins, 50 complete games, 80 game starts, 100 game appearances, and 600 innings pitched.
- This season alone, Hammond has tallied nearly 25 wins with a 1.91 ERA (1.64 in AE games) and two no-hitters. She has pitched just two wild pitches all season while allowing less than a hit per inning on average.
- On the other side of the pitch, Morgan Petty hit her 200th career hit this year along with earning 150 RBI, 30 home runs, 30 doubles, and 60 stolen bases.
- Maddi Petrella hit at least 30 doubles, 30 home runs, 140 RBI, and 150 hits while Caitlyn Mitros surpassed 150 hits, 90 runs, and 50 stolen bases.
- Be on the lookout as the following players are nearing these milestones:
- Petrella needs two more RBI to hit 150 career RBI.
- Mitros will earn 175 career hits with three hits this weekend.
- If Petty tallies one more home run and/or one more triple, she will hold sole possession of second place in the career record book.
- With one more double, Petty will join Petrella in the record book with doubles in a single season for 2024.
- Mitros will hit 100 career runs with two more this weekend.
- Petty needs three stolen bases to earn 75 in her career while Mitros needs two for 60.
- In the circle, Hammond's 60th complete game is her next one.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
*all times central
Friday, May 17
- Game 1: Penn State vs Texas State - 3 pm - Watch | Stats
- Game 2: UAlbany at Texas State - 5:30 pm - Watch | Stats
Saturday, May 18
- Game 3: Texas State at Texas A&M - 2 pm - Watch | Stats
- Game 4: UAlbany vs Penn State - 4:30 pm - Watch | Stats
- Game 5: Winner G4 vs Loser G3 - 7 pm - Watch | Stats
Sunday, May 19
- Game 6: Winner G3 vs Winner G5 - TBD - Watch | Stats
- Game 7: Winner G6 vs Loser G6 (if necessary) - TBD - Watch | Stats
- *Sunday game times are TBD due to weather
*Minimum of 35 minutes between games.
ABOUT TEXAS A&M
- Having been voted 14th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and ninth in the NFCA Coaches Poll, the Aggies received the 16th overall seed to host the final regional.
- A&M started the season with 12 consecutive wins - four at the Aggie Classic, five at the Campbell/Cartier Classic, including two over #14 Oregon, and three to start the Texas A&M Invitational.
- Falling 1-0 to Kansas, the Aggies were 17-1 at the end of February.
- Starting off March with a loss to Weber State, Texas A&M tallied eight-straight wins, including a 3-0 sweep over #22 South Carolina and a doubleheader win over #21 Mississippi State for five SEC wins.
- Taking the series over #25 Auburn and falling in three to #6 LSU, the Aggies added a 2-1 series victory against Kentucky and #13 Alabama before sweeping Ole Miss.
- A&M closed out the regular season with a 39-12 overall record and a 15-9 SEC record after three losses to #9 Florida.
- The team fell to Florida in the SEC Tournament semifinals.
- Six Aggies are batting over .300 with Koko Wooley leading the charge with a .366 AVG.
- Jazmine Hill and Ryley Wiggins are the only two Aggies to have started in all 53 contests. Trinity Cannon and Allie Enright follow closely with 52 starts and 53 appearances.
- Cannon owns a team-high 15 home runs and 52 RBI. Julie Cottrill and Enright follow with 41 RBI each.
- Enright and Wiggins share the team-lead with 10 doubles each and follow with 10 home runs each.
- In the circle, Emiley Kennedy has seen the most time with 175.0 innings pitched. She has tallied a 1.68 ERA with 25 starts, 21 wins, eight shutouts, and five saves. Allowing 109 hits, she has walked 80 batters and struck out 183.
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
- The Bobcats with 17 wins in 23 contests throughout February and early March.
- Hosting Penn State for a three-game series, TXST added three wins.
- Starting out conference play on the road, the Bobcats faced James Madison for two wins and one loss before sweeping Appalachian State at home.
- After adding two split series victories, 2-1, at South Alabama and against Troy, Texas State went 1-2 against #21 Louisiana.
- The Bobcats closed out the regular season with two series sweeps over ULM and Marshall and a 2-1 series split at Southern Miss.
- Winning the Sun Belt Conference title in three games, Texas State defeated tenth-seeded Marshall, third-seeded South Alabama, and first-seeded Louisiana for the title.
- Overall, the Bobcats finished the season 45-13 with an 18-6 conference record.
- Hannah Earls (.366) and Sara Vanderford (.360) lead five Bobcats with batting averages over .300.
- Vanderford has hit 24 doubles and 11 home runs while Anna Jones follows with 11 doubles and JJ Smith follows with 10 home runs.
- Vanderford also owns the team-high with 48 RBI. She leads five total Bobcats with at least 30 RBI.
- TXST has utilized six pitchers throughout the season. Jessica Mullins leads the pack with 229.1 innings in the circle. With 34 starts, she has 30 wins, eight shutouts, and 213 strikeouts.
ABOUT PENN STATE
- The Nittany Lions ended the early-season tournament schedule with just two losses in 17 games.
- After five consecutive losses in early March, PSU hosted a tournament for five wins.
- Penn State started conference action with a series sweep over Indiana before earning 2-1 series victories against their next three Big Ten opponents - Maryland, Nebraska, and Michigan State.
- Ohio State took both games in a midweek doubleheader but the Nittany Lions recovered with two wins (and a loss) at Wisconsin.
- PSU closed April with their final home series but fell in all three games to eventual tournament champion, Michigan.
- The Nittany Lions closed out the regular season at Rutgers with one win and two losses.
- Penn State fell to Maryland in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
- Overall, PSU earned a 34-18 record with a 12-11 conference record.
- Kaitlyn Morrison leads the team with a .340 batting average.
- Gaby Garcia (.336) and Maddie Gordon (.333) are close behind while sharing the team-high with 11 home runs each.
- Five Nittany Lions have hit over 10 doubles - Morrison (17), Gordon (15), Haylie Brunson (13), Liana Jones (12), and Garcia (10).
- Garcia leads with 41 RBI. Gordon (38) and Jones (37) are close behind.
- Bridget Nemeth has pitched nearly 200 innings with 22 wins, 22 starts, and 186 strikeouts. Mady Volpe follows with just over 100 innings in the circle, 19 starts, and 95 strikeouts.
NCAA REGIONAL HISTORY
- The Great Danes have won the AE Tournament and been to the NCAA Regional seven times during their Division I history.
- Having gone most recently to Eugene, Oregon in 2018, UAlbany also competed in the regionals in 2017 at Alabama.
- Their last regional win came in 2014 when UAlbany beat Utah Valley in the first elimination game at Oregon.
- Their remaining appearances happened in 2011 (Penn State), 2007 (Hofstra), 2006 (UMass), and 2005 (Notre Dame).
- Tallying two wins in the loser's bracket, the Great Danes made it to the regional final in 2007. After falling to eighth-seed Baylor in game one, UAlbany defeated Harvard and Hofstra to make it to the final game of the weekend.
2024 AMERICA EAST POSTSEASON AWARDS
- Pitcher of the Year
- First Team All-Conference
- Second Team All-Conference
- All-Rookie Team
- All-Academic Team
- All-Tournament Team
- Elite-18
For more information on the University at Albany softball team, follow the squad's official social media accounts shown below.
Twitter - @ualbanysb
Instagram & Threads - @ualbanysb
