By Andy Walter

Delaware’s football off-season was already going to be very short this year.

Now it’s going to be a couple days shorter.

The Blue Hens’ season opener at Maine will now be on Thursday, Sept. 2 — two days earlier than originally scheduled.

The time of the CAA contest is still TBA.

Delaware just finished up its 7-1 spring season on May 8. The Hens opened that season with a 37-0 victory over the Black Bears.

It will be the fifth straight fall that Delaware has opened the season on a Thursday.

While the Hens played Maine at Portland in 2017, this year’s game will be Delaware’s first trip to Maine’s campus in Orono since 2013.

Milford’s Bowe honored

Milford High grad Rajene Bowe, a junior outfielder on the Dominican College softball team, was recently named a second-team selection on the NFCA Division II All-American team.

Bowe was also named the winner of the New Balance/NFCA Golden Shoe Award as the top base stealer in Division II.

Previously, she had been named to the All-Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference first team, the NFCA East Region first team and to the Division II Conference Commissioner Association All-East Region second team.

Bowe currently leads Division II in stolen bases with 34, while sitting in second place in the CACC in hits with 52 in 113 at-bats. She is the first player in Dominican history to receive the Gold Shoe Award and to be named to an All-American team.

Smyrna’s Mace an All-American

Former Smyrna High standout Abby Mace, a sophomore outfielder on the Salisbury softball squad, was a first-team pick on the NFCA Division III All-American team.

Mace was named a finalist for the NFCA Player of the Year last week. She was also honored as the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year, All-C2C first team and NFCA All-Atlantic Region first team.

Batting leadoff for the Sea Gulls, Mace had 14 home runs with 45 hits, 37 runs scored, 32 RBI, 22 stolen bases and 10 doubles.

Salisbury made the NCAA Division III tournament for the 23rd time this spring.

Polytech’s Burawski wins award

Former Polytech High softball player Kaite Burawski, now pitching for Bridgeport, was named the East Coast Conference Pitcher of the Yer in softball.

In 14 regular-season appearances, the sophomore had a record of 11-2 with 145 strikeouts, just 50 hits allowed, and a 0.74 earned run average over 94.1 innings. Her strikeout and ERA marks were tops in the ECC.

Burawski put her name in the NCAA and ECC record books with a 23-strikeout performance in a 15-inning outing against Mercy. It set a ECC single-game record and was the fifth-highest total in Division II history.

Notes

Former Cape Henlopen High baseball standouts Zack and Jake Gelof were a combined 5-for-8 with four runs scored and six RBI in Virginia’s 14-1 win over Notre Dame in the ACC Tournament on Thursday. ... Delaware State baseball players John Weglarz and Miguel Rivera (Polytech) were named to the all-MEAC Tournament team. Weglarz was 4-for-10) with four RBI while Rivera had three hits and one RBI in seven official at-bats. ... Delaware baseball players Kyle Baker, junior Joseph Carpenter and freshman Jake Dunion were second-team selections on the all-CAA team. ... Delaware softball player Hanna Garber was named to the NFCA All-Northeast Region first team while teammate Brittney Mendoza was selected to the second team and Emily Winburn was picked to the third team. ... Twenty-one Delaware State riders have been recognized by the National Collegiate Equestrian Association for their work in the classroom. ... A pair of former Caesar Rodney High lacrosse players, Jimmy Cava (14 goals) and Jake Copio (13), both finished with 21 points for Wilmington University this spring. ... It’s closing in on two months since Delaware State started looking for new head coaches in both men’s and women’s basketball. There’s been no word on any hirings yet.