Baltimore, Md. – The UMBC softball team (20-28, 3-10 America East) looks to get on a roll heading into the America East tournament as they host the Hartford Hawks (3-41, 0-14 AE) this weekend to close the regular season.

The Retrievers will also be honoring their six seniors: Kelly Lane (Albany, N.Y./Colonie Central), Jessica Holte (Ashland, Va./Atlee), Nicole Casagrand (Melbourne, Fla./Hatboro-Horsham), Kinsey Shifflett (Smithsburg, Md./Smithsburg), Kaelin Jackson (Export, Pa/Franklin Regional), and Jaclyn Buckley (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Camden Regional) for their contributions to the team.

UMBC is coming off a double-header split on Wednesday afternoon at Mount St. Mary's. The Mountaineers took game one 17-3 in five innings, but UMBC bounced back to take game two, 5-3. Lane tossed her first complete game of the season to pick up the win in game two, while Carly Lesko (New Milford, N.J./New Milford) had six RBI on the day, four of which came on a game two grand slam.

The Retrievers are paced at the plate by Maddie Daigneau (New River, Ariz./Boulder Creek), who is hitting .373 with a team-high 57 hits. Lesko brings the power with a team-high eight home runs and 26 RBI, as Tori Alexander (Woodbridge Va./Woodbridge Senior) is first on the team in doubles (11) and second on the team in average (.357) and hits (56). Kim Puccio (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) leads UMBC in all major pitching categories with nine wins and a 2.55 ERA to go along with 62 strikeouts in 96 innings pitched.

Scouting the Hawks:

Hartford is in the midst of a 24-game losing streak, and are coming off from a doubleheader against Sacred Heart on Tuesday where they dropped both games, 10-0 and 5-2. The Hawks are looking for their first conference win of the season.

They are being led at the plate by Kristen DeCiantis, who is batting .264. Lexi Wilkerson provides the power for the team, as she leads the team with 30 hits, five home runs, and 18 RBI. In the circle, Gerone Isabella leads the team in ERA with a 5.56. Bianca Ross, Melissa Pereira, and Lexi Wilkerson all are tied for the team lead in wins with one. Ross also leads the team in innings pitched (94.1), while Pereira leads the team in strikeouts with 35.

All Time Series:

UMBC and Hartford have played in 41 games throughout the all time series, with UMBC holding a 25-16 lead over the Hawks. The Retrievers have won the last nine of 10 games played between the two schools.