UMBC

Krista Kearns pitched a no-hitter against Delaware State for her first collegiate victory.

Jessica Griffith hit a walk-off home run to defeat Delaware State.

Baltimore, Md.-Freshman Krista Kearns pitched her first career no-hitter in just her third collegiate start, and junior Brittany Boyd went the distance, giving up just one run on two hits, to lead the Retriever softball team to the UMBC Kickoff Classic championship. The Retrievers improve to 9-3 and have now won eight in a row after a 5-1 win over Coppin State and a 10-0 six-inning victory over Delaware State.

Boyd was a little shaky in the first inning against Coppin State, as the Eagles recorded their only two hits and scored their lone run in the frame. But Boyd settled down after that, retiring 12 in a row before walking Kendra Bates in the top of the fifth. She then retired eight of the final nine batters of the game to pick up the complete game and the shutout. Boyd improves to 2-0 on the season after allowing just one run on two hits and two walks while striking out six in seven innings. Danielle Summerour suffered the loss for the Eagles.

Down 1-0 after the top of the first, the Retrievers scored three in the bottom half of the inning and added two more in the fifth. Center fielder Kali Shirk led off the inning with a walk, then stole second and third and scored on a throwing error by the catcher. Designated player Stevie Shore reached on an error by the third baseman and came around to score on first baseman Melanie Denischuk’s two-run home run, her third of the season.

With one out in the fifth inning, Shore doubled and scored on Denischuk’s RBI single. Shortstop Dana Shepherd, who had reached on an error, scored three batters later on a fielder’s choice by catcher Jessica Griffith.

Denischuk was 2-for-3 with a run scored and three RBI on the game.

With the win, the Retrievers advanced to the UMBC Kickoff Classic championship game for a rematch against Delaware State, a team they defeated, 2-1, on Saturday. The Hornets beat Quinnipiac, 10-2, to advance to the title game.

After single runs in the first and second and nothing in the third, the Retrievers broke the game open in the fourth, sending 10 batters to the plate, scoring five runs on five hits. Left fielder Courtney O’Hara started the scoring with a one-out double to left field, Shirk hit an infield single and Shore reached on an error to drive in O’Hara. Shepherd then tripled to plate both Shirk and Shore. With two outs, third baseman Reilly Ward singled to drive in Shepherd and scored on a triple by right fielder Carla O’Rourke.

After going quietly in the bottom of the fifth, O’Rourke walked to lead off the sixth before second baseman Ashlea Underwood singled and Griffith hit a walk-off three-run home run to win the game, 10-0. The homer was Griffith’s third in two days.

But the story of the game was Kearns’ pitching. The freshman went the distance for the shutout and did not allow a hit. She walked two and struck out seven for her first career victory.

Denischuk and Griffith each had a home run and four RBI on the day, while Shore led the team with four runs scored and Griffith had three hits in seven at-bats (.429). Shirk stole three bases to give her 15 on the season. She stole 17 in all of 2005 and is now 32-for-32 to start her career, a UMBC record.

Griffith had a monster weekend, going 7-for-14 (.500) with five runs scored, three home runs and 10 RBI. Ward was also 7-for-14 with five runs scored and six RBI, while Underwood was 6-for-12 (.500) with six runs scored and five RBI. Denischuk was 5-for-15 (.333) with five runs scored and seven RBI, while Shepherd and Shore each scored six runs and had six hits.

As a team, the Retrievers hit .368 (50-for-136) and held opponents just 16 hits in 106 at-bats (.151). The pitchers posted a stellar 1.17 ERA, allowing just seven runs in five games with 32 strikeouts. The Retrievers also hit five home runs and scored 46 runs.

In the consolation game, Quinnipiac defeated Coppin State, 6-4. On the weekend, UMBC was 5-0, Delaware State was 3-2, Quinnipiac was 2-3 and Coppin State was 0-5.

The Retrievers return to action Wednesday, March 8, when they travel to Delaware to take on the Blue Hens at 2 p.m.

Second Annual UMBC Kick-Off Classic

Friday, March 3, 2006 – Pool Play
Quinnipiac 16, Coppin State 0 (5 innings)
Delaware State 7, Quinnipiac 5
Delaware State 20, Coppin State 9 (5 innings)

Saturday, March 4, 2006 – Pool Play
UMBC 21, Coppin State 5 (5 innings)
UMBC 8, Quinnipiac 0 (5 innings)
UMBC 2, Delaware State 1

Sunday, March 5, 2006 – Bracket Play
No. 2 Delaware State 10, No. 3 Quinnipiac 2
No. 1 UMBC 5, No. 4 Coppin State 1

Championship Game: No. 1 UMBC 10, No. 2 Delaware State 0 (6 innings)
Consolation Game: No. 3 Quinnipiac 6, No. 4 Coppin State 4