UMBC

Kristie Pickeral, who hit her UMBC career record 40th homerun on Thursday, moved one hit away from that all-time career mark.

Baltimore, Md. – UMBC Senior Kristie Pickeral became the first UMBC softball player in program history to hit 40 homeruns in a career as she led UMBC to a 5-3 win in game one of a doubleheader with Delaware (22-20) on Thursday afternoon at The UMBC Softball Stadium.  The Blue Hens in game two utilized a six run sixth inning to defeat the Retrievers (22-22-1), 7-5, in the doubleheader split.

Pickeral in her first at bat broke a 0-0 tie, sending shot over the left centerfield wall in the second inning for her 40^th career homerun.  Pickeral last year became UMBC’s first 30 career homerun hitter and continued to put distance between herself and second place with her eighth of the season.

UMBC added two more runs in the third and fourth inning to take a 5-0 lead.  In third, Reilly Ward’s sacrifice fly out brought home Megan Ousler, who led off the inning with a walk.  Pickeral later in the inning went the opposite way with a single to right field for her second RBI of the day, driving in Dana Shephard.

In the fourth with two aboard and one out, Kali Shirk tripled down the first base line clearing the base paths and give UMBC the 5-0 lead.

Amy Sadowl was solid on the mound, holding the Blue Hens off the board for the first four innings before two runs in the fifth as Jenn Joseph’s single to centerfield scored two.  Joseph doubled in the seventh for another Delaware RBI as she finished 2-for-4 in the game, driving in all three Blue Hen runs.

Sadowl took the win to move to 8-4 on the year with a complete game, striking out three and allowing six hits.  Carolynn Sloat took the loss, allowing five runs on eight hits with two strikeouts.  Sloat falls to 13-10 on the year.

In the game two Jenn Joseph was perfect on the mound for the first 3.2 innings before Reilly Ward knocked her team-high ninth homerun of the year over the right field fence, tying the game at 1-1 and breaking up both the perfect game and no hitter.  Ward with her ninth homerun of the year and 13^th for her career ties for fifth on UMBC’s all-time homeruns chart.

Joseph settled back in holding UMBC to one run and one hit up until the seventh inning as the Blue Hens gave their starter just enough cushion with a six run sixth inning.  An error and four consecutive hits started the down fall for UMBC starter Jessica Taylor, who entered the inning allowing three hits and seven strikeouts. 

Taylor’s day finally came to an end as with two outs Katie Lee hit a three-run homer to centerfield. 

UMBC rallied in the seventh as Pickeral led off the inning with a double, her third hit on the day as she moved to 257 career hits, one away from tying Deanna Vecchio’s all-time career mark of 258 hits in the Retrievers’ black and gold.  RBI hits by Ashlea Underwood, Jessica Griffith and Heather Bennett pulled UMBC within two at 7-5 with one outs. 

Joseph, however, escaped the final inning with a ground out and line out to get the win and move to 8-10 on the year.  Joseph finished the day going 7.0 innings allowing five runs on six hits.

Taylor took the loss to fall to 4-4 going 5.2 innings allowing seven runs, two earned with seven strikeouts.  Katie Jo Passero allowed no hits, one walk in the final 1.1 innings.

The Retrievers travel to Stony Brook for their first game away from UMBC Softball Stadium since March 20^th.  UMBC will play a three-game series beginning on Saturday at 12 p.m.