The UMBC Softball team will open America East play when it hosts Maine for a three game series beginning on Friday night at The Diamond.

The series will begin with a doubleheader on Friday, and the final game is tentatively scheduled for noon on Sunday.

Last time out, UMBC pushed its win streak to four with a doubleheader sweep of visiting Coppin State on Wednesday afternoon

The Retrievers won game one, 9-1, in five innings via run-rule, before rallying late for an 8-5 win game two.

Kya Matter picked up the win in both contests, not allowing an earned run in five innings of work in game one, before working two scoreless innings of relief in game two.

Ella Squaires had two hits and two runs in each game, while Emily Riggs, Lyndsey Evix and Ashley Della Guardia all homered for UMBC, which improved to 11-9 on the season.

Game 1:

• The Eagles got a leadoff bloop single in the first, but Matter struck out the next three batters to end the inning
• Squaires and Amaya Carroll singled back-to-back to open the bottom half of the first, and Riggs put UMBC up 1-0 when she made it three straight singles to open the game
• Evix then followed with an RBI ground out to score Carroll and Della Guardia made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly to the wall in center to score Riggs.
• After a scoreless top of the second, Erin Behel walked to leadoff the bottom half. She then moved to second on a Briana Rebman sacrifice bunt.
• Macy Granzow walked and Squires blooped a single to load the bases with one out
• Carroll then drew a full count walk to force in a run, and Riggs promptly followed with a grand slam to make it 8-0 Retrievers
• Mikayla Bryant came in and picked up her first career hit in the third, but was stranded
• Coppin State scored an unearned run in the top of the fourth, and it would remain 8-1 until the bottom of the fifth when Evix blasted the first pitch of the inning over the fence in center to end the game via run rule
• Matter struck out six, walked one and allowed just three hits an an unearned run in five innings.

Game 2:

• This time it was the Eagles who jumped out to an early lead, as they went up 1-0 in the first on a 2-out error, and then made it 3-0 in the third on a wild pitch and another error
• UMBC got one back in the bottom of the third when Riggs drew a leadoff walk, and her pinch runner Julia Colton would eventually score on a Jolie Torrens RBI single up the middle
• Coppin State pushed the lead back to three, at 4-1, in the top of the fourth, but the Retrievers would once again answer in the bottom half
• Granzow hit a leadoff single, stole second and scored on a Squaires RBI single to halve the lead.
• Squaires would steal second and then score on a Jerzie Nutile two-out RBI single to cut the CSU lead to 4-3
• Another two-out error allowed the Eagles to extend the lead back to 5-3 in the top of the fifth
• It remained 5-3 until the bottom of the sixth, when UMBC exploded for five runs
• Squaires started the inning with a walk and moved to second on an Amya Lundy single
• Carroll scored Squaires from second on a one out single, and Della Guardia gave the Dawgs the lead for good when she followed by smashing the first pitch she saw way over the fence in left for a three-run homer.
• Matter, who entered in the sixth, allowed a leadoff walk, but struck out the next three batters to secure the win.

Scouting Maine:

• The Black Bears (1-18) enter the weekend looking to snap a 10-game losing streak 
• Katie Jo Moery leads the offense with a .319 batting average, 15 hits and four doubles
• Pitcher Caitlyn Fallon sports an 8.81 ERA and an 0-4 record.