Sophomore pitcher Kim Puccio (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) was named America East Pitcher of the Week, the conference announced this afternoon. Puccio earned the honors after a complete-game two-hit shutout of Patriot League-leading Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks came in to the matchup with a 29-10 record, RPI of 61 and was the top offense in the Patriot League, but Puccio kept their bats quiet in the 2-0 win on Saturday.
UMBC (20-26, 3-8) will close out non-confernece play when it hosts Norfolk State for doubleheader on Wednesday at 2:15 p.m. Puccio leads the Retriever pitching staff with a team-best 3.38 ERA to go with her 6-3 record. Bridget O'Malley (Baltimore, Md./Seton Keough) continues to pace the UMBC offense, batting .388 with a team-high 50 hits. Junior third baseman Kaelin Jackson (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) brings the power to the lineup, with eight homers, 11 doubles and 35 RBI.
Scouting the Spartans (15-20, 9-5 MEAC)
Norfolk State was last in action this past Thursday, when it split a doubleheader at MEAC rival UMES. The hosts took the first game 2-1 in eight innings before the bats exploded in an 18-13 NSU win in game two.
Whitney Williams leads the Spartans in homers (five), hits (36) and total bases (58) to go with her .313 average and 23 RBI. Hunter Halford paces the NSU pitching staff with a 3.11 ERA and eight complete games in eight starts to go with her 4-6 record.
