2014: Appeared in 30 games, starting seven times in the circle and four times as the designated player while making 10 relief appearances and nine pinch hit appearances ... Big Ten Distinguished Scholar ... Academic All-Big Ten ... Threw 2.0 perfect innings of relief against New Mexico (2/7) ... Started and won a wild contest over Utah (2/8), helping herself by going 2-for-4 at the plate with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored ... Drove in two runs in a 12-11 win over George Washington (2/14) ... Had the game of her career in the circle on 2/21 against No. 3 Washington, throwing a complete-game four hitter to earn a 4-2 victory in her longest outing since her freshman year ... Fanned a season-high five versus the Huskies ... Matched that strikeout total in a 5.0-inning complete game 14-1 win over LIU Brooklyn (2/22) ... Closed out a 7-2 win at South Florida with a scoreless inning of relief, fanning two (3/7) ... Earned both wins in a doubleheader sweep of Wisconsin (3/21), first pitching 2.1 scoreless innings of relief in an extra-inning victory in game one before going the distance for a complete-game 4-2 win in the second ... Drove in a run with a pinch-hit single against Michigan State (5/2) ... Crushed a two-run home run as part of a 2-for-3 performance in a start as the DP on Senior Day against Michigan State (5/4) ... Also pitched the seventh inning of that contest ... Entered an NCAA Tournament elimination game against BYU in relief with a 3-1 deficit and tossed 6.0 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win while also hitting a 2-run pinch hit home run in the game.
2013: Made one start as the designated player while playing in 25 games total ... Appeared in eight games in relief in the circle ... Also had 13 pinch hit appearances and three pinch running appearances ... Northwestern's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree ... Academic All-Big Ten ... NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete ... Started a three-run seventh-inning rally for a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Georgia Tech with a pinch hit walk before scoring a run (2/22) ... Scored as a pinch runner in a run-rule win over Iowa (4/14) ... Tossed 1.1 innings of relief at Penn State (4/20), shutting down a rally to strand inherited runners during the inning she entered ... Entered a sixth-inning rally against Purdue as a pinch hitter, getting hit by a pitch and eventually scoring during a four-run inning that gave Northwestern a 6-4 victory (4/26).
2012: Started seven games in the outfield, 22 as the designated player and 10 in the circle ... Had 18 relief turns in the circle ... NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete ... Academic All-Big Ten ... Singled, walked and scored a run at No. 1 Arizona State (2/10) ... Threw 1.1 scoreless innings of relief against No. 12 Washington (2/11) ... Fired another scoreless inning of relief against No. 21 Oklahom State (2/24) ... Doubled and scored in a win over Colorado State (2/25) ... Tripled during a 2-for-3 game against No. 11 Stanford (3/2) ... Collected a pair of hits against East Carolina (3/3) while also throwing 2.0 perfect innings of relief to pick up a save against the Pirates ... Went 2-for-3 at the plate with a run and an RBI against Hartford (3/20) ... Clubbed her first-career home run--a three-run job--before coming in to pitch the seventh inning in a 7-2 win over UIC (3/28) ... Nailed down a save with a scoreless seventh inning against Iowa (4/7) ... In the series finale versus Iowa (4/8), went 1-for-2 with a walk, two RBIs and two runs scored ... Earned a win in relief at Northern Illinois (4/25) while also doubling home a run and scoring ... Smashed a solo home run at DePaul (5/2) ... Scored a career-best three runs while batting 2-for-2 with two walks, an RBI and a double during a win at Michigan State in which she also earned a complete-game win in the circle (5/5) ... Went 1-for-3 with a run, an RBI and two stolen bases in a win over Illinois (5/11) ... Capped the regular season with a career-best three RBIs to compliment two runs scored during a 2-for-2, two walk performance against Illinois (5/12).
2011: Appeared in 22 games in the circle with 12 starts ... Also appeared as a pinch hitter twice and a pinch runner once ... Fanned six batter in 5.0 innings in her first-collegiate start against Western Michigan (2/12) ... Pitched 1.2 scoreless innings of relief against No. 10 Washington ... Picked up her first-career save with 3.0 scoreless innings of work versus Oregon State (2/26) ... Earned first complete-game victory with a 7.0-inning effort against Cal State Northridge (3/5) ... Also drove in a run with an RBI single in that game ... Pitched 5.0 innings of scoreless relief against IPFW to pick up the win (3/6) ... Threw the first no-hitter of her collegiate career and the 44th in Northwestern history in a 5.0-inning, 8-0 win over Saint Mary's on March 22 ... Walked three and fanned seven in that no-no ... Fanned a career-best 10 in a complete-game win over Loyola (Chicago) (4/2) ... Pitched a scoreless seventh versus DePaul to earn a save (4/5) ... Tossed a three-hit shutout with nine strikeouts at Wisconsin (4/9) ... Earned a complete-game win while also going 2-for-3 at the plate against Michigan State (4/13) ... Recorded a pinch-hit, run-scoring double at Penn State (5/14).
High School: Four-time first-team high school all-American ... Also four-time all-state, West Bay Athletic League MVP, All-Mercury News Team and All-Daily News Team ... Matched a California state record with 10-consecutive no-hitters in her senior year, earning a mention in Sports Illustrated ... As a junior, led the state of California with a 0.06 ERA and 18.2 strikeouts per seven innings ... Through three seasons of high school, is 58-10 with 821 strikeouts, nine perfect games, 27 shutouts, an .096 opponent's batting average and a 0.38 ERA ... Career batting average is .561 with a 1.002 slugging percentage ... Appeared in the May 11, 2009, issue of Sports Illustratedas a Face in the Crowd after fanning 37-of-47 batters in a 14-inning, 3-2 win ... High school has won the league title in all three of her seasons ... Plays club for Sorcerer Gold ... Won the 2009 ASA 18U Gold National Championship with the Socerer's ... Also won the 2008 Independence Day Tournament title in Boulder, Colo. ... Participated in seven ASA National Tournaments since the age of 10 ... Elected to student government in each of the past two years.Personal: Born Samantha Leigh Albanese ... Daughter of Craig and Laura Albanese ... Has a sister, Melanie ... Father played lacrosse at Washington & Lee University ... Has studied tap, jazz and modern dance for the past 13 years ... From the same hometown as former NU pitching coach Tori Nyberg ... Chose Northwestern over California and Stanford ... Majoring in political science with a minor in Legal Studies.GET TO KNOW ALBANESE
If you could be any other NU Athlete for a day, who would you be? Eileen Canney
Favorite Athlete... Tim Lincecum (my car is named after him)
Favorite Food... chicken burrito, extra guac, no sour cream!
Favorite Song... is like picking your favorite child. But I will say that Jason Mraz is my number one artist.
Nicknames... Sammy Girl
Hobbies... guitar, yoga, dance (I've danced since I was 3 years old), listening to music, playing with my puppy
Favorite Reality Show...The Real World/Road Rules Challenge and The Bachelor/Bachelorette
Favorite actor/actress...Rachel McAdams, Will Ferrel, Ryan Gosling, Channing Tatum
If you were a super hero, what would your super power be? To be able to be in multiple places at once; life would be so much easier!
Favorite Movie... The Sound of Music, Step Brothers
If you could spend a day with any three people, alive or dead, who would they be? Jason Mraz, Johnny Knoxville, Tim Lincecum
Favorite pro sports team... SF Giants
Favorite TV shows...Glee, Gossip Girl, The Office, Chopped, America's Next Top Model, So You Think You Can Dance
When I was little, I wanted to be a... sports commentator
No one can believe that I...can't pop my ears. Plane rides are painful!
I hate to admit it but I love...Jersey Shore. Jerzday with Marisa and Lamb are the best!
Secret talent...I can do a "wave" with my tongue and twist it upside down.
Pre game ritual... I have many many in-game rituals, but no pre game rituals other than visualizing a win.
If I could play any other sport at NU, it would be...tennis; If I didn't play softball, I'd definitely play tennis; not to mention how good our tennis team is!
An artist that no one would believe I have on my ipod...Symphony X; although, almost no artist could shock my team because I listen to absolutely everything; from classical to dubstep to country--I love it all!
Favorite midnight snack... peanut butter and banana sandwich
If I could eat one meal for the rest of my life it would be...a club sandwich with sweet potato fries
Favorite class at NU...my current legal studies class--American Lawyers: Demystifying the Profession
After I graduate I want to be...a Rockette, and then a lawyer :)
Favorite Holiday Tradition...our family usually travels over the holidays, so we don't really have any traditions! But just spending time with my family is all I need.
Something that is on your bucket list...to dance in a music video.
A place I would love to visit...Spain
Facebook or Twitter? #tweettweet
If I could be any character from a TV show or Movie I would be...Allie from The Notebook
Best thing about NU...all of the life long friends I've made and the fantastic opportunities this university and program has given me
Favorite NUSB memory...playing Mafia for hours on end during away trips!
If you were on the amazing race, what teammate would go with you? Zo! We'd totally win.
Funniest person on the team? Courtnay Foster
Best dancer on the team? Easy. Amanda Mehrsheikh.
Biggest prankster on the team? Sheiki!
If you were on minute to win it, who would be your partner? Monka!
If you got into the Cash Cab, which teammates would you want to be with you? Zo and Sheik; between the 3 of us, we could answer any question.