BALTIMORE – UMBC softball opens America East action with a three-game series against Stony Brook, starting with a doubleheader on Sunday, March 30 at 1 p.m. at the UMBC Softball Stadium. The series finale is set for Monday, March 31 at noon. Any further weather updates for the series will be posted to UMBCRetrievers.com on Sunday morning.
The series was originally scheduled for Saturday, March 29 and Sunday, March 30, but due to inclement weather in the Baltimore area, the series start time was pushed back a day.
The Retrievers (20-9) are coming off a 10-6 victory against George Washington on Thursday. Sophomore left fielder Jordan Sganga (Edgewater, Md./South River) tabbed the first home run of her career in part of a 4-for-4 day from the dish, while junior second baseman Katlin Olesky (Irvine, Calif./Saddleback College) added three RBI on two hits.
UMBC's offense is batting .291 on the season, with five players hitting over .300. Junior Taylor Hall (Cosby, Va./Cosby) is batting .393 with 13 extra base hits and a team-best 29 runs batted in. Sophomores Danielle O'Neill (Lothian, Md./Southern) and Bridget O'Malley (Brooklyn, Md./Seton Keough) have proven to be reliable in the top of the lineup thus far this season, with O'Neill posting a .439 on-base percentage and O'Malley registering a team-best five stolen bases.
In the circle, the Retrievers' youthful pitching staff has been extremely effective thus far. Jessica Holte (Ashland, Va./Atlee) leads the nation in walks allowed per seven innings (0.37) and sits in seventh on UMBC's freshman wins list with a 12-3 overall record. Holte has an 1.86 ERA in 101.2 innings of work. Nicole Casagrand (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) is holding opponents under three runs a game and has a 4-2 record in seven starts. Kelly Lane (Albany, N.Y./Colonie Central) is holding opponents to a .250 batting average in 47.1 innings of work.
Stony Brook (10-12) took two-of-three against Albany to capture its America East series opener last weekend, but dropped a midweek single game to Iona, 8-0, in five innings. Senior Olivia Mintun is hitting a team-best .328 in her 22 starts in the infield. She has 22 hits and has driven in 11 runs. Junior Bria Green leads the squad with nine extra base hits and a team-best 14 runs batted in.
In the circle, Allison Cukrov and Jane Sallen have combined for all 10 the Seawolves' wins. Cukrov has a 7-7 record with a 3.59 ERA in 78 innings of action. Sallen has posted SBU's only shutout victory and is holding batters to a .269 batting average.
