ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany softball team hits the road for a doubleheader at Maine.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
UAlbany at Maine (DH)
DATE: Friday, March 31
TIME: 12:00 PM
SITE: UMaine Softball Facility - Orono, Maine
RECORDS: UAlbany 9-8, 2-0 America East | Maine 7-20, 0-2 America East
SERIES RECORD: 36-14, UAlbany leads
STATS: GoBlackBears.com
STREAM (G1): ESPN3
STREAM (G2): ESPN3
INT'L STREAM: AE.TV
 
*records as of 3/30
 
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. 
• ??Most recently, UAlbany opened conference play with two wins over UMass Lowell in a doubleheader (3.26). In game one, the Great Danes played nine innings against the River Hawks before taking a four-run victory for game two.

 
AT THE PLATE

• Tallying 23 hits, including two home runs, senior Morgan Petty leads the team with a .418 batting average.
• Senior Maddi Petrella follows her with a .370 batting average off 20 hits, including one double, one triple, and one homer.
• Junior Jordan Nastos leads with 14 RBI from 18 hits and ties Petty with two home runs.
• Tied for a team-high two home runs, sophomore Sierra Fretz has nine RBI from 10 hits, including three doubles.

 
IN THE FIELD

• Graduate student Chloe Lewis leads the defense with 73 putouts.
• Freshman Deanna Grahek leads with 28 assists.
• Seven Great Danes have contributed to at least one double-play. Grahek leads with six and Lewis follows with five. Jordan Nastos has three and Sierra Fretz has two, while Maddie, senior Wendi Hammond, and sophomore Christie Collins have tallied one each.
• All five Great Dane pitchers have seen the circle for at least three innings.
• Wendi Hammond has seen the most time with 64.1 innings pitched and 34 strikeouts. She has pitched seven complete games, including two shutouts, with 10 starts and a 7-4 record in the circle.
• Redshirt-sophomore Kate Powers saw her third start against UMass Lowell. She's pitched 16.2 innings with 13 strikeouts, including five against the River Hawks in 6.0 IP.
• Both sophomore Amelia Freitas and Lewis have gotten two starts with a combined 24.2 IP and eight strikeouts. 

 
2023 AMERICA EAST WEEKLY AWARDS

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

 
ABOUT MAINE

• The Black Bears are 7-20 after six weeks of action.
• Maine earned their first win in the opening game of the Upstate Classic (Feb. 10-12) against George Washington but then dropped the last three games.
• After the Chattanooga Challenge (Feb. 17-19), the Black Bears stood at 4-5.
• Maine went 0-5 in the OSU/Tulsa Invitational (Mar. 3-5) while playing against nationally-ranked #24/#23 Missouri and #3 Oklahoma State.
• In California, the Black Bears went 2-5 with wins over Dartmouth and Saint Mary's and losses to Sacramento State (x2), San Jose State, Dartmouth, and Saint Mary's.
• Most recently, the Black Bears fell in a doubleheader conference opener against Binghamton (3.26).
• Grace McGouldrick leads with a .342 batting average from a team-high 25 hits. The graduate student also leads with 15 runs.
• Izzy Nieblas owns a team-high 10 RBI from 18 hits, including six doubles.
• Four Black Bears have hit one home run.
• Katie Jo Moery has hit the lone triple on the season.
• In the circle, two pitchers lead with about 55 innings pitched. Caitlyn Fallon has seen a team-high 55.1 IP with 34 strikeouts, two complete games, and 12 starts. Alysen Rieth has pitched 54.2 innings with 26 strikeouts, two complete games, and 8 starts.
• In the field, Nieblas owns a team-high 141 putouts and Krista Francia leads with 64 assists.
• As a team, the Black Bears have notched six double plays.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE BLACK BEARS

• The Great Danes lead the series, 36-14.
• During the 2022 season, the Great Danes swept the regular-season series, 2-0.
• After winning a four-run game, 5-1, in game one of the doubleheader, the Great Danes took game two, 8-5, on April 9. 
• Hammond pitched a complete game allowing only one run with three strikeouts to start the day.
• Seven Great Danes were able to tally a hit with three players recording at least one RBI in game one.
• Combining three pitchers in game two, Hammond pitched three innings for the win after Briana Garrett started.
• Morgan Petty led with four RBI in the final game of the series.

 
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 the first weekend of conference play, three teams swept their doubleheaders to lead the AE.
• UAlbany defeated UMass Lowell, Binghamton beat Maine, and UMBC saw two wins over Bryant.
• Overall, Binghamton, UAlbany, and UMBC lead with winning records.
• The Bearcats have a 14-7 record while the Great Danes (9-8) and the Retrievers (10-9) are sitting just above .500 with their respective records.
•  are the two teams with winning records. The Bearcats have a 14-7 record and the Great Danes own nine wins in 17 games.
• UMass Lowell rounds out the top four with a 10-15-1 record.
• Bryant (8-14) and Maine (7-20) close out the conference rankings in fifth and sixth place, respectively.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Friday
  • Bryant at UMass Lowell, 1 pm (DH)
  • UAlbany at Maine, 2:30 pm (DH)
• Saturday
  • Binghamton at UMBC, 3 pm
• Sunday
  • Binghamton at UMBC, 12 pm (DH)
  • Bryant at UMass Lowell, 1 pm

 
UP NEXT

• The Great Danes will continue on the road with a midweek doubleheader at Army (April 5).

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