BALTIMORE --
Courtney Coppersmith (York, Pa.) picked up the 1,000th strikeout of her career and the offense exploded as the UMBC Softball team swept visiting UMass Lowell, 8-0 (5) and 6-2, to clinch its third-straight America East regular season title.
Game 1
- UMBC (23-14, 15-3 AE) got off to a quick start in the first when Macy Granzow (Glenn Dale, Md.) scored all the way from first on a Lyndsey Evix (Cumberland, Md.) one out double.
- Evix would score two batters later on a Jerzie Nutile (Pasadena, Md.) RBI groundout to make it 2-0
- In the second, Madison Wilson (Abingdon, Md.) made it 4-0 with a two-RBI single
- Nutile would blow the game open in the bottom of the fourth with a grand slam.
- Coppersmith would work a scoreless top of the fifth to end the game via run-rule
- Coppersmith struck out nine, walked two and allowed just two singles to pick up the victory
- Wilson went 3-for-3 with two RBI, while Nutile went 1-for-3 with five RBI
Game 2
- After the first pitch of the game was popped up for an out, Coppersmith would strike out the next two to reach the 1,000 strikeout mark for her career
- Kya Matter (Dalmatia, Pa.) entered to pitch the second and kept the game scoreless until an error allowed an unearned run in the fourth to put the guests up 1-0
- The River Hawks hit a solo homer in the top of the fifth to go up 2-0, but UMBC would answer in the bottom of the inning
- Shanel Stott (Cumberland, Md.) and Karly Keating (Orlando, Fla.) hit back-to-back singles to open the frame, and Stott would score when Coppersmith followed with an RBI single.
- The Retrievers would then take the lead when Ashley Della Guardia (Phoenixville, Pa.) would blast the first pitch she saw over the fence in left for a three-run homer to put UMBC up 4-2
- After a pitching change, Granzow singled, and UMBC would eventually load the bases with two outs after walks to Wilson and Emily Riggs (Lancaster, Pa.)
- Stott and Keating would hit back-to-back RBI singles ot make it 6-2
- Matter would retire the final eight batters she faced to move to 12-5 on the season
- Stott went 3-for-3, while Keating and Della Guardia each had a pair of hits
The two teams will conclude the series tomorrow at noon. A special pregame senior ceremony will begin at 11:30 a.m.
