BALTIMORE, Md. – The UMBC softball
team defeated Siena, 3-2, and then fell to St. Francis (Pa.), 7-1,
on the first day of the UMBC Spring Classic at the UMBC Softball
Stadium.
Sophomore Jessica
Warner (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) led the Retrievers,
going 3-for-7 in the two games, hitting her fifth homerun of the
season in the second game against St. Francis (Pa.).
In the first game of the day, senior Katie
Ferguson (North East, Md./North East/Cecil CC) threw her
sixth complete game of the season to pick up the win against the
Saints. Ferguson (5-5) recorded six strikeouts while
only giving up only two earned runs.
Siena's Jessika-Jo Sandrini took the loss for the Saints,
yielding three runs over six innings of work, while picking up nine
strikeouts.
Both pitchers dominated the early innings as the Retrievers and
Saints combined for only three hits in the first three
innings.
Siena finally took the initiative, plating one run in the top of
the fourth on a single to right by Samantha Ray. The
Saints doubled their lead two innings later in the top of the sixth
when Shannon Jones hit a solo homerun to right
field.
The Retrievers made a comeback in the bottom of the inning
however, scoring three times to take a 3-2 lead. Warner and
freshman Taylor
Hall (Cosby, Va./Cosby) started the inning with back-to
back singles for UMBC. After a strikeout, junior Kaela
Mason (Bel Air, Md./Harford Tech) singled to load the
bases. Freshman Kayla
Margentino (Unionville, Conn./Farmington) then drew a walk
to push across the Retrievers' first run and cut the Siena lead in
half, 2-1.
With two down, sophomore Caitlin
Chance (Easton, Md./Easton) made the big blow, knocking a
single to right-center, scoring Mason and pinch runner Katrina
Gaar (Newport Beach, Calif./Orange Coast CC) to give UMBC
the lead, 3-2.
Siena threatened in the top of the seventh, getting a runner to
third base, but Ferguson struck out Jones looking to end the
game.
In game two, St. Francis erased an early 1-0 UMBC lead to score
seven unanswered runs and take the win.
Red Flash pitcher Brooke Koch threw seven complete innings,
giving up only one run while notching four
strikeouts. Koch registered four strikeouts and
gave up only three hits.
Junior Heather
Brown (Pasadena, Md. Northeast) took the loss for the
Retrievers, giving up four runs in four innings of
work. Brown (2-5) struck out two batters, but also
walked two.
Warner gave the Retrievers a bright start, leading off the game
with her fifth homerun of the season. Gaar then drew a
walk, and advanced to third on a two base throwing error by the
centerfielder. UMBC could not widen the lead however, as
the next two batters were sent down in order.
The Red Flash responded immediately, plating three runs in the
top of the second to take the lead for good, 3-1.
After extending the lead to three, 4-1, in the top of the
fourth, St. Francis (Pa.) closed out the game with a 3-run homerun
by Paige Smith in the top of the seventh.
The Retrievers return to the diamond on Friday to play Sacred
Heart on day two of the four-day weekend
tournament. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. at
the UMBC Softball Stadium.
