The University of Maine softball team began its conference play on the road with a three-game series against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Retrievers over the weekend. The Black Bears split the doubleheader on Saturday before winning the finale on Sunday to improve their record to 5-26 on the year, 2-1 in America East. The Retrievers see their record slip to 7-21 overall, 1-2 in the AEC.
UMaine senior first baseman Hilary Kane went 6-11, with six RBIs during the three games, and junior pitcher Hannah Hill added five RBI to go along with a win on the mound in Game 2 to pace the Black Bears over the weekend.
UMBC freshman outfielder Bridget O’Malley went 5-12, with six runs scored, and sophomore catcher Taylor Hall went 5-10, with five runs scored against UMaine to lead the Retrievers.
UMaine, UMBC Split Doubleheader to Open America East Play
The Black Bears and Retrievers began conference play with plenty of offense Saturday afternoon, combining to score 24 total runs during the doubleheader. UMBC took Game 1 by a score of 4-2, while the Black Bears earned the split with an 11-7 victory in Game 2.
Kane plated the first run of the day, with a double in the top of the first inning of Game 1 off UMBC senior starter Heather Brown. Sophomore outfielder Jessica Burk scored from second on the two-bagger, after she reached on a fielder’s choice before advancing on a walk by junior catcher Jean Stevens.
O’Malley tied the game at one in the bottom of the first, with her first collegiate home run — a solo bomb to left off UMaine senior starter Beth Spoehr.
Spoehr and Brown would settle in after the first, holding both teams scoreless until the sixth inning. Brown went the distance, allowing one earned run on three hits while striking out three in seven innings. Spoehr went 5.2 innings on the mound for the Black Bears, giving up four earned on four hits while striking out a pair of Retrievers in the loss.
Stevens put the Black Bears up 2-1 in the top of the sixth on a solo shot to center, her America East-leading seventh home run of the season.
The Retrievers would rally in the bottom half of the inning, however, scoring three runs to stretch out to a 4-2 lead.
Hall’s two-run homer — her sixth of the season — put UMBC up by one after O’Malley drew a walk to begin the inning. Spoehr was pulled in favor of sophomore reliever Alexis Bogdanovich with two gone in the inning after UMBC junior shortstop Caitlin Chance drew another walk. Chance was driven home by sophomore third baseman Courtney Reinfeld’s double down the left field line to put the Retrievers up 4-2.
UMaine was able to get a runner in scoring position in the top of the seventh, after a walk and a two-out single up the middle by freshman utility player Makaila Kowalsky, but the Black Bears could not bring anyone home. Brown would escape the jam to secure the 4-2 victory.
UMaine would take game two of the doubleheader 11-7 after a six-run rally in the top of the ninth inning.
The Black Bears jumped out to an early lead once again, this time on a two-run home run by Kane in the top of the first after Stevens drew a walk. Kane went 3-5, with four RBI and two runs scored, to lead UMaine in Game 2.
Stevens would stretch the lead to three, with her eighth home run of the season and second solo homer of the afternoon, at the top of the third inning.
The Black Bears added two in the fourth to bring the score to 5-0. Junior pitcher Kylie Sparks helped herself out by singling home Kowalsky after the freshman reached second on a single and a wild pitch. Sparks scored on an error after sophomore outfielder Stephanie Wood advanced her to third on a single of her own.
Sparks was credited with a no decision on the mound for UMaine, after giving up four earned on seven hits, with five punch outs in six innings of work. Her counterpart — UMBC freshman starter Rachel Ionata — also earned a no decision, after giving up five earned on eight hits and seven walks in seven innings for the Retrievers.
UMBC pushed three across, in the bottom half of the fifth, to cut the deficit to two. Chance doubled home two runs, with one gone in the frame after the Retrievers loaded the bases. Junior first baseman Chelsea Bertoglio scored from third on a sacrifice fly by Reinfeld to make it 5-3 heading into the sixth.
The score remained that way until UMBC’s two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh forced extra innings.
Hill replaced Sparks on the mound in the seventh but could not shut the door. O’Malley began the comeback after singling up the middle off the tip of Hill’s glove. She scored on a fielder’s choice after Hall advanced her to third on a double down the right field line. Hall moved to third on Chance’s ground out, setting the table for Reinfeld’s game-tying RBI double to left center.
Both Hill and Brown — UMBC’s game one starter, who replaced Ionata after the seventh — made it through the eighth unscathed before the Black Bears’ six-run explosion at the top of the ninth.
Kane plated two more, with another single to begin the rally, after sophomore utility player EmJ Fogel and Stevens reached on a single and a walk, respectively. Burk brought Kane home on a single through the left side before stealing second and scoring a run of her own on another single by senior catcher Jenny MacDowell. Hill would help herself out with a two-run double to center to bring the score to 11-5.
Hill earned the win for UMaine after blowing the save in the seventh. The junior gave up three earned in three innings of work, with two strikeouts and a walk, to record her second victory of the season.
Bertoglio finished the game for UMBC after Brown failed to record an out in the ninth. Brown was hit with the loss after surrendering six earned on five hits in one inning.
The Retrievers would push two across in the bottom half to bring the score to 11-7 but could not come all the way back.
The two teams combined to strand 17 base runners in Game 2 after stranding just eight collectively in Game 1.
UMaine Plates Two in Final Inning to take Series Finale 7-6
Hill’s two-run home run at the top of the seventh propelled the Black Bears to their second straight victory on Sunday. The junior finished 2-4, with three RBI on the day, to lead UMaine to the 7-6 win while freshman outfielder Danielle O’Neill recorded two hits and three RBI of her own to lead the Retrievers.
The Black Bears began the scoring for the third-straight game, after Wood’s leadoff double put her in scoring position right off the bat. Wood was brought home on Kane’s sacrifice fly to left field to make it 1-0 two batters later after Fogel’s double advanced her to third.
The score remained 1-0 in favor of UMaine until O’Neill’s first collegiate home run — a three-run shot — put UMBC up by two in the bottom half of the third inning after Hall reached on an error and Bertoglio drew a walk from Sparks.
The Black Bears responded quickly, with three runs in the top of fourth, to recapture the lead. Kane doubled to begin the rally and was immediately brought home after Burk’s triple to right field. Hill scored Burk to tie it up, with a single through the right side, and was brought home two batters later on another single by Sparks to make it 4-3 in favor of UMaine.
Sparks earned the win on the mound to go along with her second RBI of the weekend. The junior allowed four earned runs on nine hits and struck out three in the win for UMaine while Brown took the loss for UMBC. Brown, who earned the decision in all three games against the Black Bears over the weekend, went the full seven innings, allowing six earned on 11 hits in Sunday’s contest.
The Retrievers tied the game at four in the bottom half of the fourth on an RBI single by Bertoglio after freshman designated player Jane Pardo and Hall reached on a bloop single to right and a walk, respectively.
Sparks and Brown held the offenses scoreless until Stevens’ RBI groundout scored MacDowell in the top of the sixth inning to put UMaine back on top 5-4.
Bertoglio answered once again for UMBC in the bottom half, driving home O’Malley on a single down the left-field line after the freshman reached on a one-out double to left off of Bogdanovich, who had replaced Sparks to begin the inning. Both Bogdanovich and Spoehr worked an inning of relief for the Black Bears, combining to allow one earned run on four hits.
Hill untied it with her two-run homer in the top of the seventh to give UMaine the 7-5 lead after Burk led off with a single to left. The Retrievers would plate one more in the bottom half to make it 7-6 on an RBI single by freshman outfielder Jordan Sganga, but they could not complete the comeback after Sparks reentered the game on the mound to close out the game.
UMBC travels to New Jersey to take on Saint Peter’s University for a doubleheader March 27. The Black Bears return home to host the University of Albany April 6-7.