22 advertIsEment 04.29.08 <strong>The</strong> RetrIever <strong>Weekly</strong>
23 sports With two losses to Vermont, softball put <strong>in</strong> tight spot FILE PHOTO — TRW > Kali Shirk got her 200th career hit aga<strong>in</strong>st B<strong>in</strong>ghamton <strong>in</strong> the last home game of the season. Featured Featured COURTESTY ATHLETIC COMMUNICAIONS athlete: joe fowler Joe Palmer SENIOR STAFF WRITER This past weekend <strong>UMBC</strong> won a four-game series versus Hartford. Senior left fi elder Joe Fowler went 8-for-17 (.470) on the weekend, with two homeruns, fi ve runs scored, and seven RBIs. Fowler has been a constant on a team of turnover. A fouryear starter at <strong>UMBC</strong> with a ca- reer batt<strong>in</strong>g average of .313, he has led the <strong>Retriever</strong>s <strong>in</strong> nearly every major batt<strong>in</strong>g category at some po<strong>in</strong>t dur<strong>in</strong>g his career. Last year, Fowler started all 53 games for the <strong>Retriever</strong>s and tallied eight homeruns to tie for most <strong>in</strong> the conference. He ranked second on the <strong>Retriever</strong>s squad with 33 runs scored and 54 total hits. In 2006, Fowler earned First- Team All-Conference America East honors by batt<strong>in</strong>g .345 and 04.29 sports@retrieverweekly.com THIS WEEK IN SPORTS Baseball vs. Towson at 7:00 p.m. 04.30 Softball vs. Delaware (Away) at 2:00 p.m. Men’s Lacrosse vs. B<strong>in</strong>ghamton at 7:30 p.m. 05.02 Baseball vs. Albany at 3:00 p.m. (DH) Softball vs. Ma<strong>in</strong>e (Away) at 1:00 pm (DH) Baseball vs. Albany at 1:00 pm Track & Field at America East Championships 05.04 Baseball vs. Albany at 12:00 p.m. Softball vs. Ma<strong>in</strong>e (Away) at 11:00 a.m. Track & Field at America East Championships Donald Daniels EDITORIAL STAFF As the season comes to a close, <strong>UMBC</strong> softball is <strong>in</strong> a fi ght to keep their postseason hopes alive. With the fourth spot still on the l<strong>in</strong>e, last years’ America East Conference runner up is <strong>in</strong> danger of not mak<strong>in</strong>g the tournament. Last week the <strong>Retriever</strong>s played their last game at home aga<strong>in</strong>st B<strong>in</strong>ghamton as they defeated the Bearcats 5-0. Freshman pitcher Stephanie Weigman threw her second career shutout, as she struck out eight batters <strong>in</strong> seven <strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gs of work. In the fi rst <strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g senior catcher Kali Shirk got her 200th career hit when she hit a s<strong>in</strong>gle off B<strong>in</strong>ghamton pitcher Egan. Second baseman Dana Shepherd reached fi rst base on a throw<strong>in</strong>g error, stole second and scored when sophomore third baseman Amanda Fefel drove her <strong>in</strong> with a s<strong>in</strong>gle. <strong>UMBC</strong> would add one more run <strong>in</strong> the third via a Shirk homerun as she lead<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>Retriever</strong>s with 43 runs scored, 69 hits, 26 doubles, two triples and eight homeruns. In his freshman season, 2005, Fowler tied for the team lead <strong>in</strong> homeruns and ranked second <strong>in</strong> RBIs with 30 <strong>in</strong> only 44 games played. Fowler graduated from St. Mark’s High School, Delaware, <strong>in</strong> 2004. <strong>The</strong>re he led his team to consecutive state championships <strong>in</strong> 2003 and 2004. He was awarded All-State honors <strong>in</strong> 2004. Honorable Mention: Stephanie Weigman, reliever, for her efforts <strong>in</strong> softball’s loss to Vermont. Up Next: <strong>UMBC</strong> vs. Towson at <strong>The</strong> Baseball Factory Field (<strong>UMBC</strong>) April 29, 7 p.m. Joe Palmer is a Senior Staff Writer for <strong>The</strong> <strong>Retriever</strong> <strong>Weekly</strong>, and can be reached for comment at jpalm1@umbc.edu. TUESDAY WEDNESDAY 05.01 THURSDAY FRIDAY 05.03 SATURDAY SUNDAY went 2-for-3 on the day. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Retriever</strong>s would go on to drive <strong>in</strong> three runs <strong>in</strong> the bottom of the fi fth. Senior fi rst baseman Ashley Gray and freshman Lauren Brummell both picked up RBIs, followed by a wild pitch to give <strong>UMBC</strong> the fi ve run victory. After the w<strong>in</strong> the next stop was Burl<strong>in</strong>gton, Vermont for a three game weekend set aga<strong>in</strong>st the Catamounts, featur<strong>in</strong>g a double header on Saturday. In game one of the double header, <strong>UMBC</strong> quickly went up 2-0 when Shepherd and Shirk reached base on <strong>in</strong>fi eld s<strong>in</strong>gles and were both driven <strong>in</strong> by a fi elder’s choice by Fefel and a throw<strong>in</strong>g error by Vermont. <strong>The</strong> home team’s pitch<strong>in</strong>g and defense settled <strong>in</strong> and their offense trimmed the <strong>Retriever</strong> lead down to one <strong>in</strong> the fourth when a <strong>Retriever</strong> throw<strong>in</strong>g error allowed a runner to cross home plate. In the fi fth <strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g <strong>UMBC</strong> saw the lead > see SOFTBALL [25]