The field of the America East Championship is still very much up for grabs. Boston University and UMBC are in, but the other two spots will be split between three teams: Stony Brook University, the University of Hartford and the University at Albany. This weekend will be pivotal in the seeding, as UMBC takes on Hartford while Albany battles Stony Brook. The winner of the Albany-Stony Brook series will be in, while the loser is out. But, if Hartford is swept by the UMBC, then the loser of Albany-Stony Brook could still find a way in. Taking all this into consideration, we project who will make the field, who misses out and who’s got the best chance to win it all and represent America East in the NCAA Tournament.
#1 Boston University
All the Terriers need to do in order to ensure themselves the top spot in the conference is defeat the University of Vermont (5-13 America East) once out of three games this weekend. We feel safe predicting the Terriers will pull off a victory and play host as a result of getting the top seed. BU stands the best chance of winning the tournament not only because it should be played in Boston, but because if they win their first game each day, they will be able to pitch freshman phenom Megan Currier (17-3, 2.01 ERA) throughout the tourney. Trouble could arise for the Terriers if they lose a game and have to play two games in one day as a result, where they will have to rely on a pitching staff that has been otherwise shaky.
#2 UMBC
The Retrievers have been the best team in this conference aside from the Terriers, assembling a 12-6 conference record. Three of those losses came at the hands of BU, so it’s safe to say UMBC has handled the rest of the conference with relative ease. The Retrievers had lost four conference games in a row before last weekend, but a sweep of Stony Brook cemented them as the clear-cut second-best team in this conference. Expect them to meet up with BU in the finals. Junior hurler Ashley Grey (12-6, 1.37 ERA) could be the wildcard here. If she pitches well, UMBC could upset the Terriers if they meet in the championship game.
#3 Stony Brook University
Stony Brook holds its conference-tournament fate in its own hands. Tied for third place with Hartford, Stony Brook heads into the final weekend of regular-season play four games behind BU. The Seawolves face a three-game series at fifth-place Albany holding just a one-game lead over the Great Danes. Stony Brook will be looking to their league-best ERA and their second-best offense to help stay in the hunt for a conference championship. The Seawolves need to come out of their recent slump, however, having dropped their last four conference contests, including the aforementioned sweep at the hands of UMBC.
#4 University of Hartford
Tied with Stony Brook and one game up on Albany, the Hawks have a tough road ahead, facing second-place UMBC in Baltimore for three games to close out the season. Like Stony Brook, Hartford must win two of the three games to ensure themselves either the third or fourth seed in the tournament. Hartford has taken at least one game from each team, and owns a tie-breaker with both Stony Brook and Albany, but the possibility of a tie would be rare. Hartford will be relying on their pair of record-setting seniors Nikki Thompson and Kristie Rochette to power their team. On Tuesday, the seniors broke the school’s career home run and walks records respectively.
Outside Looking In
University at Albany
Albany is the league wild card at this point. Last year’s tournament champions, Albany now sits in fifth place and out of tournament contention. If they want to have any chance at a title defense, the Great Danes must take two of their three games against Stony Brook this weekend in order to slide into the tournament’s fourth seed.