Baltimore, Md.—Sophomore first baseman Carly Lesko (New Milford,N.J./New Milford) blasted her eighth home run of the season, her fourth in five game, and classmate Kim Puccio (Sparta,N.J./Sparta) shut down the Morgan State offense as the UMBC Softball team defeated the Bears, 4-1 on Friday afternoon at UMBC Softball Stadium.

Lesko's two-run blast to right-center with two outs in the bottom of the first inning gave UMBC (8-12) a 2-1 lead which they would not relinquish. Senior Danielle O'Neill (Lothian,Md./Southern) hit a solo homer to left to lead off the second, and, in the third, junior third baseman Kaelin Jackson hit a sacrifice fly that scored Bridget O'Malley (Baltimore,Md./Seton Keough) to make it a 4-1 Retriever advantage.

After giving up a two-out earned run in the first, Puccio kept Morgan State (2-13) in check. She went the distance, scattering eight hits, while striking out five and walking one. Senior catcher Jordan Sganga (Edgewater,Md./South River) and O'Neill has two apiece, while Lesko, O'Malley, Kelly Lane (Albany,N.Y./Colonie Central) and Tori Alexander (WoodBridge,Va./Woodbridge Senior) added hits of their own.

UMBC is back in action tomorrow, beginning with a rematch against the Bears at 12:45, followed by a single game against Marist (7-3).