Lafayette, La. -- The UMBC Softball team rallied to tie the fifteenth ranked team in the nation, but a late surge propelled No.15 Louisiana past UMBC, 7-4, on Saturday night. The Retrievers fell 9-1 in five innings to Southeastern Louisiana earlier in the evening.

UMBC (1-8) fell behind 3-0 early, but tied it up in the bottom of the third (UMBC was the designated home team) after loading the bases with one out thanks to a Valerie Hammett (Mechanicsville,Md.) leaoff single and back-to-back walks by Erin Trnka (Goffstown, NH) and Julia Keffler (Huntingtown, Md.). Maddie Daigneau then picked up her third RBI of the season when she reached on a fielders choice that scored both Hammett and Trnka thanks to an error. Keffler would then score to tie the game on an RBI groundout by Sierra Pierce (Youngstown, Ohio).

The Ragin' Cajuns (10-3) would answer right back and make it 4-3, however. UMBC appeared to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth on a Daigneau RBI groundout, but the umpires ruled runners interference on Trnka going from second to third, removed the run from the board and returned the runners to the corner. The Retrievers couldn't cash in and louisiana added three more runs in the top of the sixth.

The Retrievers threatened in the bottom of the seventh, getting the tying run to the plate with one out after cutting it to 7-4 on a throwing error, but two groundouts ended the game. 

Hammett's single and Anna Lonchar's (Bristow, Va.) double were the only hits in the game for UMBC.

Game 1

Daigneau tripled and scored on an error on the throw back to the infield to put the Retrievers up 1-0 in the top of the first. However, Southeastern Louisiana (9-5) would score two in the first, four in the second and three in the third to win 9-1 in five innings. Daigneau's triple was UMBC's only hit of the game, and the only other baserunner came on a Trnka third inning walk.

The Retrievers close out play in Louisiana against North Florida tomorrow Sunday morning at 10 am.