ALBANY, N.Y. – UMBC softball's
freshman right fielder Danielle O'Neill (Loathian,
Md./Southern) notched her 13th multi-hit game of the season,
finishing the day 3-for-5 from the dish, but the Retrievers dropped
both games in their Saturday afternoon America East doubleheader
against Albany, falling 8-0 in five innings in both contests.
The Great Danes extend their win streak to seven and improve to
27-10 (10-1 AEC) on the season, while UMBC falls to 8-35 overall
and 1-13 in conference play.
The Retrievers' bats opened the contest with a single from
O'Neill and after a fielder's choice, a second single
from sophomore designated player Taylor Hall (Cosby,
Va./Cosby) put runners on first and second with one out for UMBC.
UAlbany starting pitcher Brittany MacFawn was able to get out of
the inning, getting junior first baseman Chelsea
Bertoglio (Laguna Hills, Calif./Laguna Hills/Saddleback
College) to ground into a double play to end the frame.
Albany got on the board in the first inning, taking advantage of
a UMBC miscue to put leadoff batter Vicky McFarland on third base.
A ground out to second from Maggie Cocks scored McFarland to give
the Great Danes a 1-0 lead.
UAlbany again was able to cash in on a UMBC error as a fielding
error put junior third baseman Lauren Alcorn on first base and
senior catcher Lindsey Stout followed with a home run to right
field to make it a three-run ballgame. A pair of singles, an error
and a sacrifice fly from McFarland gave Albany a 4-0 advantage.
Cocks opened up the third with a double to left field and
Charlise Castro homered to left field, extending the lead to 6-0.
Albany continued the inning with a hit batter, a single to
shortstop and a walk to load the bases. Sophomore short stop Alexa
Toole's fielder's choice accounted for the first out of
the inning, but a single to center fielder from freshman outfielder
Annie Johnson scored two more runs for the home team and cued the
exit of UMBC starting pitcher Rachel Ionata (Tampa,
Fla./Palm Harbor University). Sophomore pitcher Miranda
Clark (Tampa, Fla./H.B. Plant) got the Retrievers out of the
inning, getting McFarland to pop out to short and senior outfielder
Taylor Franich to line out to center field.
MacFawn (17-6) threw three scoreless innings of work and struck
out five, while Ionata surrendered six unearned runs on seven
hits.
Albany opened game two with two runs on three hits in the bottom
of the first inning.
UMBC loaded the bases in the top of the second frame, starting
with a single to center field from Bertoglio, followed by a walk
from freshman shortstop Bridget O'Malley (Brooklyn,
Md./Seton Keough). Freshman first baseman Jordan
Sganga (Edgewater, Md./South River) reached on a
fielder's choice to load the bases, but the back-to-back
Retrievers were retired to end the inning.
A one-out single to center field from Johnson, followed by a
stolen base, setup an RBI situation for Cocks, who took advantage
with a single to center to give Albany a three-run lead, 3-0.
Castro reached base on an UMBC error, while Cocks advanced to
third. Senior Kylie Apostolina tripled to left field to score two
runs and scored on the next at bat, a ground out to second from
Costello.
The Great Danes added two more runs on two hits in the bottom of
the fifth inning to end the contest in five.
MacFawn earned her second victory of the day, throwing five
shutout innings. UMBC senior pitcher Heather
Brown (Pasadena, Md./Northeast) was credited with the loss,
allowing seven earned runs on nine hits.
The series finale is set for noon on Sunday, April 21 at Albany
Field.
