The UMBC softball squad (8-5) ventures onto the road for the first time in 2023, taking on Penn State, Canisius and Cornell in the Penn State Softball Invitational. The games will all be streamed on the BigTen+ network.
The revised tournament schedule has UMBC playing Penn State at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 16, then facing Cornell (10:30 a.m) and Canisius (1:00 p.m.) on Friday. The Retrievers wrap up the five-game series by taking on Canisius (12:30 p.m.) and Cornell (3:00 p.m.) on Saturday.

Last Time Out: UMBC split four games in the Retriever Classic on March 11 and 12, sweeping a pair from Morgan State and dropping decisions to Cornell and Merrimack.
UMBC scored nine runs in the final two innings to rally past Morgan State, 10-8, in the nightcap of Sunday's action. Sophomore outfielder Jerzie Nutile hit a pair of home runs to get UMBC on the board early before the Retrievers' late rally.

Honored: Freshman third baseman Emily Riggs (.346/.649/1.054) was named the America East Rookie of the Week, the Conference announced on Tuesday morning. Riggs went 5-13, tallying three runs and five RBI for the week. She also recorded a pair of home runs, including a game-tying one in the fifth inning on Sunday as UMBC rallied from a late 6-1 deficit to win.

UMBC - The Retrievers are leading America East in batting average (.281) and team earned run average (2.53). Senior IF Shanel Stott leads the offense with a .370 batting average, one of six regulars batting over .300. Junior 1B/DP Ashley Della Guardia is slashing .351/.649/1.054 with a team-best 8 RBI's.
In the circle, sophomore Kya Matter is 4-1 with a 1.54 ERA. She has fanned 42 batters in 36.1 innings of work.   

Cornell – The Retrievers just saw the Big Red at the Retriever Classic. In the head-to-head meeting, Cornell edged the Retrievers, 2-1. Lyndsey Evix banged out a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, but UMBC could not rally for the victory.
Cornell (4-6) posted a 3-2 record in the Retriever Classic, sweeping a pair from Merrimack and dropping two games versus Morgan State.
Freshman Sydney Stapf homered and drove in four runs in the 8-2 win over Merrimack on March 11. She leads the team with a line of .290/.581/.914.
The Big Red is hitting .195, but has a tidy 2.99 team earned run average. Their staff has walked only 11 batters in 68 innings.   
UMBC now trails the all-time series, 6-3.

Canisius -The Golden Griffins (9-8) have just returned from six games at the Beach Chicken Brawl at Coastal Carolina, where they posted a 2-3 record.
Sophomore infielder Saige Alfaro leads the team with a batting mark of .353. Junior outfielder Christie McGee-Ross is hitting .340 and has stolen 14 bases in 16 attempts.
Canisius is hitting .248 and has stolen 46 bases through 17 games.  
UMBC and Canisius have split eight all-time meetings. The Retrievers have won three straight, including a pair of shutouts at the 2019 GW Colonial Classic.

Penn State – The Nittany Lions have gotten off to a terrific 15-3 start and have won eight in a row entering play at their invitational. The weekend tournament is PSU's first home action of the 2023 campaign.
Senior infielder Kaitlyn Morrison has 10 hits in her last 20 at-bats and owns a slash line of .407/.648/1.106. She has driven in a team-best 17 runs.
PSU is hitting .283 and has stolen 34 bases in 37 tries. The staff owns a 1.89 ERA and five shutouts through 18 games.
The Thursday night meeting between the Retrievers and Nittany Lions will be the first encounter between the two programs.

Up Next: UMBC is slated to host Coppin State on March 22, Hofstra on March 23 and then open America East play at home versus Bryant on Sat.-Sun., March 25-26. The UMBC softball squad (8-5) ventures onto the road for the first time in 2023, taking on Penn State, Canisius and Cornell in the Penn State Softball Invitational. The games will all be streamed on the BigTen+ network.
The revised tournament schedule has UMBC playing Penn State at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 16, then facing Cornell (10:30 a.m) and Canisius (1:00 p.m.) on Friday. The Retrievers wrap up the five-game series by taking on Canisius (12:30 p.m.) and Cornell (3:00 p.m.) on Saturday.