ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany softball returns to action at the Winthrop Eagle Invitational, February 18-20.
 
Tickets are required for admission to the games. They will be sold online only and will be available as a daily pass.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
Winthrop Eagle Invitational - Feb. 18-20
SITE: Terry Field & Eagle Field
RECORDS: 
     UAlbany: 0-0, 0-0 America East
     Robert Morris: 4-1, 0-0 Horizon League
     Winthrop: 0-5, 0-0 Big South
     Youngstown State: 2-3, 0-0 Horizon League
     Ball State: 1-4, 0-0 MAC
TICKETS: WinthropEagles.com
 
UAlbany vs Robert Morris
DATE: Friday, February 18
TIME: 12:30 PM
 
UAlbany at Winthrop
DATE: Friday, February 18
TIME: 5:30 PM
STATS: WinthropEagles.com
 
UAlbany vs Youngstown State
DATE: Saturday, February 19
TIME: 10:00 AM
 
UAlbany vs Ball State
DATE: Saturday, February 19
TIME: 12:30 PM
STREAM: Facebook Live
 
UAlbany vs Robert Morris
DATE: Sunday, February 20
TIME: 10:00 AM
 
*records as of 2/17
 
GREAT DANE REWIND

• UAlbany finished the 2021 season with a 23-19 record, going 12-6 in America East play.
• Of the three players who saw all 42 games, two have returned - Maddi Petrella and Morgan Petty.
• Throughout the 2021 season, eight Great Danes saw the field for 75%  of the games with at least two plate appearances per game. Of those eight, seven have returned to play in the 2022 season - Petrella, Petty, Caitlyn Mitros, Maranda Jimenez, Alexis Phillips, Katie Falotico, and Lové Drumgole.
• UAlbany lost just one player after the 2021 season - Kelly Barkevich.
• Petrella led the America East with 39 RBIs. She also finished third in the conference, first on the team, with nine doubles and fourth in the conference, first on the team, with 41 hits.
• Mitros finished third in the America East with a .369 batting average. She also tied Petrella for a fourth-ranked finish with 41 hits.
• Petty led the team with six triples, finishing first in the conference.
• Petty and Petrella finished close behind Barkevich with eight home runs to finish third in the conference.
• In the field, Petrella led the team with 233 putouts while Drumgole is the top returner after finishing second with 48 assists.

 
ON THE MOUND

• UAlbany returns all five pitchers who saw action last year while adding two in a redshirt-freshman and a freshman.
• With a team-low ERA of 2.8 and 22 game appearances, Wendi Hammond returns as the team's primary pitcher. The junior went 11-5 from the mound with 111 strikeouts, 11 complete games, and four shutouts.
• Briana Garrett returns after tallying 37 strikeouts and 6 complete games in 69 innings and 18 game appearances.
• Maranda Jimenez pitched for 50 strikeouts in 55.1 innings while Chloe Lewis saw 14 strikeouts in 21 innings. Adian Sheeren saw three innings on the mound as a sophomore.

 
ABOUT ROBERT MORRIS

• The Colonials opened the season at the North Carolina A&T and Howard Round Robin.
• Going 4-1, RMU beat both teams twice with a loss against North Carolina A&T.
• Meadow Sacadura leads the team with a .500 batting average with seven hits in 14 at-bats. 
• On the mound, the Colonials saw five different pitchers in five games. Rachael Rhinehart and Dana Vatakis each pitched a shutout with Vatakis seeing a 0.0 ERA in eight innings.

 
ABOUT WINTHROP

• The Eagles opened their season with five losses at the River City Leadoff in Jacksonville, Florida on Feb. 11-13.
• Courtney Cygan led the team with a .250 batting average, tallying three hits from 12 at-bats. 
• On the mound, the Eagles used four different pitchers in one weekend. Each of them finished the weekend with an ERA between 3.0 and 4.0.
• Sydney Boulware and Bella Roy saw two starts on the mound.

 
ABOUT YOUNGSTOWN STATE

• The Penguins opened the season at the Gardner-Webb Tournament on Feb. 18-20.
• YSU went 2-3 with two losses against Colgate, a 1-1 record against the host, Gardner-Webb, and a win over Rhode Island. 
• Concetta Rinaldi leads the team with a .467 batting average after tallying seven hits from 15 at-bats. 
• Rinaldo also led with five RBIs while Grace Cea and Megan Turner notched the team's two home runs of the weekend.

 
ABOUT BALL STATE

• The Cardinals opened the 2022 season at the DePaul Dome Tournament with a win and four losses.
• BSU notched its first and only win of the weekend against Western Illinois, falling to St. Thomas, Murray State, Western Illinois, and Seattle.
• Kayla Lissy leads the team with a .471 batting average from eight hits in 17 at-bats.
• McKayla Timmons led with five RBIs and two doubles while five different batters tallied one home run.

 
THE WINTHROP INVITATIONAL

• The Great Danes were set to compete at the 2021 Winthrop Invitational.
• Due to the canceled tournament, UAlbany returns to Rock Hill, South Carolina, and the Winthrop Eagle Invitational for the first time since 2018.
• In 2018, the Great Danes went 1-4, earning a win against Youngstown State and falling to the host, Winthrop, as well as Morehead State, Sacred Heart, and Eastern Kentucky.

 
PICKED THIRD

• The Great Danes were picked to finish third in the 2022 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll. 
• UAlbany tallied 27 points and no first-place votes.
• UMBC topped the poll with 35 points and five first-place votes while Stony Brook followed with 29 points and two first-place votes.
• Binghamton (20), UMass Lowell (18), Maine (12), and Hartford (6) followed to close out the poll.

 
2021 POSTSEASON AMERICA EAST AWARDS

• First Team All-Conference
  • Katie Falotico (2B)
  • Caitlyn Mitros (OF)
  • Maranda Jimenez (DP)
• Second Team All-Conference
  • Wendi Hammond (P)
  • Morgan Petty (OF)
• All-Rookie
  • Wendi Hammond (P)
  • Caitlyn Mitros (OF)
  • Maddi Petrella (C)
  • Morgan Petty (OF)
• All-Academic
  • Kelly Barkevich
  • Katie Falotico

 
2021 AMERICA EAST WEEKLY AWARDS

• Player of the Week
  • Kelly Barkevich (March 22)
  • Maranda Jimenez (April 12)
  • Lové Drumgole (April 27)
• Pitcher of the Week
  • Wendi Hammond (May 10)

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• Binghamton, UMass Lowell, and Hartford began their seasons on February 11.
• Binghamton visited Georgia Southern University and UMass Lowell visited Auburn University for a three-day tournament - each ended with a 3-2 record.
• Hartford went to Norfolk State to earn a 1-4 record in three days.
• Maine, UAlbany, and UMBC will begin their season this weekend while Stony Brook will start on February 25.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Friday
  • Binghamton vs Holy Cross, 12 pm
  • Maine vs University of Tennessee at Martin, 12:30 pm
  • UAlbany vs Robert Morris, 12:30 pm
  • Binghamton vs Lipscomb, 2:30 pm
  • Maine vs Georgia Southern, 3 pm
  • UAlbany vs Winthrop, 5:30 pm
• Saturday
  • Binghamton vs Lipscomb, 9:30 am
  • Seton Hall vs UMBC, 10 am
  • UAlbany vs Youngstown State, 10 am
  • UMass Lowell vs Elon, 11:45 am
  • Binghamton vs College of Charleston, 12 pm
  • Hartford vs Delaware State, 12 pm
  • Saint Joseph's vs UMBC, 12 pm
  • UAlbany vs Ball State, 12:30 pm
  • UMass Lowell vs Elon, 2 pm
  • Maine vs Georgia Southern, 3 pm
  • Maine vs North Dakota State, 5:30 pm
• Sunday
  • Maine vs North Dakota State, 9 am
  • UMass Lowell vs Providence, 9:30 am
  • Saint Joseph's vs UMBC, 10 am
  • Binghamton vs Valparaiso, 10 am
  • UAlbany vs Robert Morris, 10 am
  • Hartford vs Delaware State, 11 am
  • UMass Lowell vs Morgan State, 11:45 am
  • Seton Hall vs UMBC, 12 pm

 
UP NEXT

• The Great Danes will head to Florida to compete at the Spring Games at Madeira Beach on March 4-6.

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