Baltimore, Md.— Senior Shortstop Bridget O'Malley (Baltimore, Md./Seton Keough) continued her torrid hitting pace, pushing her season average to .446 in going 3-for-4 with four RBI as the UMBC Softball team downed visiting Siena on the first day of the UMBC Spring Classic on Friday.

UMBC (12-14) would gain the lead for good in the bottom of the first thanks to O'Malley. Sophomore centerfielder Tori Alexander (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge Senior) worked a walk to start the inning and freshman Morgan Peyou (Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island) followed with a double to left to put two in scoring position for O'Malley. The senior would then blast a home run, her second of the season, to straight-away center to give the Retrievers the early 3-0 lead.  

"Bridget is one of the most steady and consistent players in the conference from the very first game of the season," head coach Joe French said "She has been doing it with her glove, bat, speed, leadership, and, lately, with power."

Siena (7-8) would get a run back in the second, but the top of the UMBC order would put the game out of reach in the bottom of the third. Peyou led-off with a triple into the left field corner and scored on an O'Malley bunt single to re-establish the three-run advantage at 4-1. Senior catcher Jordan Sganga (Edgewater,Md./South River) would plate O'Malley with a two-out single up the middle to push the lead to 5-1. Sganga finished the game 2-for-3 and would bring home the final run of the game in the fifth with an RBI double to left-center that scored junior third baseman Kaelin Jackson (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional).

Junior Jessica Holte (Ashland, Va./Atlee) improved her record to 6-5 with the complete-game performance. The lefty allowed just the one earned run on five hits, walked none and struck out one.

UMBC and Siena will have a rematch tomorrow at 12:45, followed by a La Salle-UMBC matchup at 3.