ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany softball team hosts Siena in their first home games of the 2023 season.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
Siena at UAlbany (DH)
DATE: Wednesday, March 22
TIME: 2:00 PM
SITE: UAlbany Field - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 5-8, 0-0 America East | Siena 12-6, 0-0 MAAC
SERIES RECORD: 59-16, UAlbany leads
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
STREAM: AE.TV
  
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.
• Tallying 16 hits, including one double and one home run, senior Maddi Petrella leads the team with a .421 batting average.
• Senior Morgan Petty is close behind with 15 hits, including two doubles and two homers, for a .366 batting average.
• Sophomore Sierra Fretz leads with nine RBI and two home runs after the Great Danes' weekend in Maryland.
• Three Great Danes have hit with two doubles - Petty, freshman Deanna Grahek, and junior Jordan Nastos - in addition to Fretz' and Petty's two home runs each.
• Pitching five complete games, senior Wendi Hammond has seen 47.1 innings in the circle with 25 strikeouts and two complete game shutout wins. Redshirt-sophomore Kate Powers, sophomore Amelia Freitas, senior Adian Sheeren, and graduate student Chloe Lewis have also spent time in the circle.
• In the field, Lewis leads with 36 putouts while Grahek leads with 21 assists. Four Great Danes are left without an error in the field - Petrella, Fretz, junior Caroline Srokowski, and freshman Kasey Conn.
• Seven Great Danes have contributed to at least one double-play. Grahek leads with five and Lewis follows with three. Fretz and Nastos each have two while Petrella, Hammond, and sophomore Christie Collins have tallied one each.

 
2023 AMERICA EAST WEEKLY AWARDS

• Player of the Week
  • Sierra Fretz - March 21
• Rookie of the Week
  • Sara Anderson - March 21

 
ABOUT SIENA

• The Saints are 12-6 after five weekends of action.
• Siena started the season with six-straight wins with a doubleheader against Monmouth (2.10), a three-game series against North Carolina Central (2.18), and a game against Valparaiso (2.24).
• Competing in six games at the Spring Games, the Saints earned wins against Valparaiso, Dartmouth (2.25), and Oakland (2.27) with losses against Notre Dame (2.25), UT Martin (2.26), and FIU (2.26).
• After going 2-2 at the Capital Classic in California, Siena went 2-1 in a three-game series against Hartford (Mar. 17-18).
• Former Great Dane, McKenzie Swinson leads the Saints with a .400 batting average. Notching 14 hits, including four doubles, she has tallied 10 runs.
• Ava Fitzmaurice has compiled a team-high 14 RBI from 19 hits, including four doubles, one triple, and two home runs.
• In the circle, three pitchers have totaled around 30 innings pitched. Alissa Eimont leads with a 2.12 ERA, three complete games, one shutout, and 25 strikeouts while Ava Fitzmaurice follows closely with a 2.19 ERA, two complete games, and 24 strikeouts. Nicole Patille has started six games and totaled 16 strikeouts in 27.2 innings.
• In the field, Emma Peterson owns a team-high 71 putouts and Sabrina Vargas leads with 31 assists.

 
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

• Binghamton leads the conference with an 11-7 record.
• UMBC is the only other team with a winning record - 8-7 - for second place.
• Going 8-12-1, UMass Lowell is tied with the Retrievers with eight wins.
• UAlbany is currently in fourth with a 5-8 record after three weekends of play.
• Bryant (6-11) and Maine (7-18) round out the conference.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Wednesday
  • UMass at UMass Lowell, 2 pm
  • Bryant at Hartford, 2 pm
  • Siena at UAlbany, 2 pm (DH)
  • Coppin State at UMBC, 2 pm
• Thursday
  • Hofstra at UMBC, 1 pm
• Saturday
  • Maine at Binghamton, 12 pm (DH)
  • UMass Lowell at UAlbany, 1 pm (DH)
  • Bryant at UMBC, 1 pm (DH)
• Sunday
  • Maine at Binghamton, 11 am
  • UMass Lowell at UAlbany, 12 pm

 
UP NEXT

• The Great Danes will continue at home with their first conference series against UMass Lowell.

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