Catch up on the CAA Softball weekly news, notes and awards.

WEEKLY HONORS

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Janel Gamache, UNCW

Graduate | INF /P | Exeter, Rhode Island / Moses Brown 

Gamache contributed in the batter’s box and the circle for the Seahawks during their season-opening weekend. 

The graduate student hit .400 (4-10), with three extra-base hits, posting a .500 on-base percentage, while going 1-0 in the circle, earning a complete game shutout victory. 

Gamache recorded a double, triple and home run over the weekend, and she added two RBIs and two runs scored. 

She reached base safely in all five games and had a hit in the last four games. 

In the circle, Gamache earned the start against Purdue Fort-Wayne and allowed just two hits, while striking out four en route to a complete game shutout. 

PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Emily Winburn, Delaware

Senior | Fort Lauderdale, Florida / Chaminade Madonna 

Winburn appeared in four of the Blue Hens’ five games, recording a 2-1 record and a save in the circle. 

The senior right-hander posted a 0.88 ERA in 16 innings of work. She had 12 punchouts and allowed eight hits. 

She started the year 1-0, allowing one earned run on one hit with five strikeouts, tossing five innings in the season opener. 

The following day, Winburn had two relief appearances. She earned a win after shutting out UTSA over three innings, including four strikeouts, and she added a save, throwing two shutout innings against Northwestern State.  

Took home 2⃣ awards after Week☝️! 😤 #BlueHenBuilt

📰: https://t.co/sze6GT1yQw pic.twitter.com/7wqMyIHCE1

— Delaware Softball (@Delaware_SB) February 14, 2023

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Katie Scheivert, Delaware

Freshman | Utility | Leesburg, Virginia / Tuscarora

Scheivert started all five games during her first collegiate weekend of softball, posting a .333 (5-of-15) batting average, with four runs batted in, three runs scored and three stolen bases. 

In her collegiate debut, Scheivert went 1-for-2 with a walk, recording two RBIs in a win over UTSA. 

She followed the performance with her first multi-hit performance, going 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored and two stolen bases in the nightcap victory against Sam Houston State. 

It was her first of two multi-hit games over the weekend. 

CONFERENCE NOTES

SEAWOLVES DOWN THE DAWGS  

• Stony Brook introduced itself to the CAA with a win over No. 23 Mississippi State on Saturday. 

The Seawolves blanked the Bulldogs, who advanced to the NCAA Super Regional round last season. It marks the first win for a CAA team over a ranked opponent since 2021.  

HENS START HOT IN TEXAS 

• Delaware opened the year 4-1 in the Lone Star State, going 4-0 at the 2023 Bearkat Classic, before dropping a one-run game at Houston in the weekend finale. 

It is the third season in a row the Blue Hens have won at least their first three games. 

Delaware is coming off a 29-win season, its most since 2016, and the first CAA regular-season title in program history. 

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY

• Four teams had games canceled and seven had schedule adjustments due to inclement weather on opening weekend. 

Two teams were completely washed out, but seven teams were able to hit the diamond for the first time this spring. 

Ten teams are slated to play this weekend, with four opening their 2023 campaigns.  

𝙃𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝘿𝙖𝙮 9

➡️ 7 INN, 0 R, 4 K, 2 H
➡️ 1-2, Double, 1 R

👑 @jgamache_9 pic.twitter.com/sG3qgAAyk3

— UNCW Softball (@UNCWsoftball) February 10, 2023

TEAM NOTES

Charleston

• Charleston made it through half an inning, before its season-opening tournament was washed out last weekend.

• Mia Dittoe returns to Charleston’s lineup after earning CAA All-Tournament team honors last spring. 

Dittoe hit .254 with 20 runs batted in and 15 runs scored. She was second on the team in both categories. 

• Payton Lemire (5-11) is the top arm back in the circle for the Cougars. The senior right-hander was sixth in the CAA in earned run average (2.64) last season, throwing 108.2 innings with 59 strikeouts.

Delaware 

• Hanna Garber posted a team-high .421 batting average with a team-best eight hits. Garber recorded three multi-hit games, including a 3-for-3 effort in the weekend finale. 

• Emily Winburn appeared in four of the five games over opening weekend, posting a 2-1 record with a save. Winburn tossed 16 innings, recording a 0.88 ERA and 12 strikeouts.

• Kiara Mills had a team-high five RBIs in her debut weekend for the Blue Hens. Mills drove in runs in three games, recording six hits, including three doubles, and a .400 batting average.  

Drexel

• Drexel welcomes back three of its top 4 bats from last season, but for the second year in a row, the Dragons will have to replace one of the top hitters in program history.

• Grace Abbonizio headlines the returners, after ending last season with first-team All-CAA honors. The junior outfielder hit .313 with 22 runs scored and 10 RBIs last season. 

• Jackie Masone had an impressive freshman season, earning CAA All-Rookie and second-team All-CAA accolades. 

Masone was fourth in the conference with a .364 batting average and 37 runs scored last spring. She recorded 47 hits and 25 RBIs, as well. 

Elon 

• Bella Devesa hit a team-high .545, recording six hits, two RBIs and one run over the weekend. 

Devesa tallied at least one hit in all four games, including a 3-for-3 effort in the season opener. 

• Kaitlin King tossed 5.1 innings in the circle, picking up the lone winning decision. King posted a 1-0 record with a 1.69 ERA, allowing just two hits. 

• Freshman Mauri Murray paced Elon with three runs batted in. Her first collegiate hit was a three-run homer in Elon’s victory. 

Hampton 

• Kayla Domon made her Hampton debut, leading the team with five hits and a .385 batting average. Domon also scored a team-high six runs and knocked in three. 

The fifth-year outfielder had at least one hit in all four games.

• Julia Sinnett hit .333 on the weekend, recording a hit in her first three games this spring. 

Sinnett totaled four hits with three RBIs and two runs scored. 

• Brooke Williams ended the weekend on a three-game hitting streak, batting .333 with four hits on the weekend. Williams added four runs scored and an RBI. 

Hofstra 

• Hofstra won a league-high 13 conference games last season in Adrienne Clark’s first season as head coach. It was the most CAA wins for the Pride since 2018. 

• Graduate student Meghan Giordano (.307/.396/.521) has started all 144 career games at Hofstra. 

She recorded 43 hits last season, leading the Pride with 32 RBIs, and matched a team-high with 30 runs scored en route to first-team All-CAA honors. 

• Chelsea Manto also earned first-team All-CAA honors for Hofstra last season. 

Manto hit a team-best .358 and recorded a league-high 63 hits. 

Additionally, she led the team with 21 stolen bases and scored 30 runs.  

Monmouth 

• Monmouth salvaged two games over the weekend, despite its original season-opening tournament getting canceled. 

The Hawks dropped two against Siena in a doubleheader on Friday. 

• Despite an 0-1 record, Billie Kerwood posted a 1.83 ERA with a career-high 11 strikeouts in 7.2 innings of work. 

Kerwood scattered four hits in the extra-inning contest, while limiting the opposition to a .160 batting average. 

• Riley Riendeau tallied a team-best two hits, going 2-for-3 with a double and run scored in the season opener. 

North Carolina A&T

• Dezianna Patmon hit a league-best .556 over the opening weekend. 

Patman had five hits, including a double and homer. 

She tallied a hit in all three games, with multi-hit efforts in the final two of the weekend. 

• Jai Deese went 4-for-10 at the plate, recording a hit in all three games over the weekend. 

The senior scored a team-high four runs, including three in the N.C. A&T victory. 

• Amaya Kearse made two appearances in the circle, going 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA. Kearse tallied five strikeouts and scattered four hits in 5.2 innings of work.  

UNCW

• Janel Gamache hit a team-best .400 and posted a .538 on-base percentage, while going 1-0 in the circle. 

Three of Gamache’s four hits went for extra bases, as she recorded two RBIs and two runs. 

Additionally, she tossed a complete-game shutout in her first start in the circle. 

• Tayler Vitola picked up a team-high five hits, batting .357 for the weekend. 

She opened the year on a three-game hitting streak, including two multi-hit performances. 

• Kara Hammock tossed a complete eight-inning game in the season opener. She scattered three hits and tallied a career-high 11 strikeouts. 

Hammock totaled 13 innings on the weekend, going 1-1 with a 2.69 ERA. 

Stony Brook

• Sofia Chambers hit a team-high .417 and posted a .533 on-base percentage. Chambers went 5-for-12 at the plate with three walks, scoring a pair of runs and knocking in one. 

She ended the weekend on a two-game hitting streak.

• Alyssa Costello had a team-best six hits, including two extra-base knocks.

Costello hit .400, recording at least one hit in four-of-five games. 

The sophomore infielder added a team-best five RBIs, with two or more in two games.  

• Mia Haynes went 1-1 in the circle, tossing a complete game shutout against No. 23 Mississippi State. Against the Dawgs, she scattered six hits while striking out two. 

Haynes threw 14.2 innings total with a 3.34 ERA.  

Towson 

• Towson had its season-opening invitational at Coastal Carolina washed out. 

The Tigers will head back to South Carolina to try again this weekend. 

• Briana Ramirez, a first-team All-CAA honoree last spring, was second in the CAA in batting average (.379) and third in hits (55). 

In addition, Ramirez led the Tigers in runs scored (23).

• Mackenzie Lake is back for her third year as the Tigers’ shortstop. 

Lake, who has started all 74 games in her career, recorded 44 hits and a .303 batting average last year to rank second on the team in both categories.