BALTIMORE – UMBC softball looks to get back on track as they return to America East action on Friday, April 11 when they Retrievers open a three-game series at Maine. First pitch on Friday has been moved to 3 p.m. at Mike Kessock Field. The series wraps-up with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 12, with first pitch slated for noon.
The Retrievers (22-15, 0-5 AEC) is in the midst of its first four-game losing streak of the season after dropping Wednesday's 8-6 decision to Georgetown. UMBC launched four home runs in the contest, three of which were solo shots, but finished with just five total hits on the day.
Junior Taylor Hall (Cosby, Va./Cosby) moved up in the record books in career home runs (25) and extra-base hits (59), in addition to recording her 100th-career RBI after blasting a pair of shots over the fence against the Hoyas. Hall leads the squad with a .414 batting average and 38 runs batted in. Sophomore Danielle O'Neill (Lothian, Md./Southern) also moved herself into the record books, tying for eighth in UMBC's single-season walks list with 27 on the year. O'Neill is second on the team in on-base percentage (.437) and home runs (seven), having gone yard three times in the last three games. Freshman Kaelin Jackson (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) has reached base safely in a team-best seven straight games and has hit .412 during the streak.
In the circle, UMBC's 2.92 ERA ranks second in the America East, led by freshman Jessica Holte's (Ashland, Va./Atlee) 2.01 earned run average. Holte has tossed a team-high 128.2 innings of work and has posted a 13-6 record. Classmates Nicole Casagrand (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) and Kelly Lane (Albany, N.Y./Colonie Central) have combined for an even 9-9 record, each throwing 59 innings.
Maine (13-11) dropped two-of-three at Albany last weekend to move into a tie for second in the league with a 5-3 record. Junior Jessica Burk leads four batters hitting over .400 during conference play for the Black Bears, hitting at a .519 clip. Burk has driven in a team-best 12 runs on the season and has a .461 on-base percentage. Classmate EmJ Fogel has chipped in a team-high seven extra-base hits and has 11 RBI in 2014.
In the circle, senior Hannah Hill has posted a 6-1 record in eight starts and has a 2.36 earned run average. Junior Alexis Bogdanovich has tossed 50.1 innings of work and has a 3.06 earned run average.
