UMBC

Melanie Denischuk went 4-for-6 with a home run and six RBI in two games Friday.

Baltimore, Md.-The Retriever softball team won both its games Friday on the first day of the UMBC Dawg Pound Tournament, defeating St. Francis (Pa.), 6-0, before outlasting Howard, 9-5. The Retrievers improve to 11-4 on the season and have won 10 of their last 11 games.

UMBC got the scoring started in the second inning of the first game, as designated player Jessica Griffith, the MVP of last weekend’s Kickoff Classic, walked with one out, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on a single to left by second baseman Ashlea Underwood.

The next inning, first baseman Melanie Denischuk singled to center field with one out and rode home on third baseman Reilly Ward’s third home run of the season.

The Retrievers went quietly in the fourth and fifth innings but broke out for three runs in the sixth. The inning began when shortstop Dana Shepherd reached on a dropped third strike. She advanced to second when Griffith singled, and they each moved up a base on pinch hitter Carla O’Rourke’s sacrifice bunt. Shepherd scored when Underwood grounded out, then pinch hitter Krista Kearns smashed a home run over the left field wall to give UMBC a 6-0 lead.

Senior Lauren Nicholson earned the win for the Retrievers and improved to 5-0 on the season with her school record 43rd career victory. She pitched all seven innings for the complete game shutout, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out seven.

Hilary McNelis suffered the loss for St. Francis, as she allowed three runs on four hits and two walks and struck out three in three innings of work. Laura Caldwell pitched the final three innings for the Red Flash, giving up three unearned runs on three hits and no walks and striking out two. Each pitcher allowed a home run.

Denischuk was 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Ward, Kearns and Underwood each drove in two runs and Griffith scored twice.

Center fielder Kali Shirk stole her UMBC record 33rd consecutive base to give her a team-best 16 on the season.

The Retrievers again struck first in a wild second game, as Shirk reached on a three-base error and scored on a sacrifice fly by Denischuk. Two innings later, designated player Stevie Shore homered with one out to give UMBC a 2-0 lead.

Howard tied the game in the top of the fifth. Shortstop Candice Tatum led off the inning with a walk and center fielder Tracy Javier doubled to left field off Retriever starter Jessica Taylor before Amy Sadowl relieved her. Second baseman Nayrobi Nicholas, the first batter Sadowl faced, doubled down the left field line to drive in both Tatum and Javier and knot the score at 2-2.

But the Retrievers regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning, as Shirk led off with a single to center field and Shore doubled down the left field line. Denischuk then singled down the right field line to drive in both runners for the 4-2 lead.

The Bison would not give in, however, and fought right back to tie the game again in the top of the sixth. Right fielder Rischelle Charles led off the inning with a single to center and catcher Semplecia Scott singled to left. Tatum bunted them to second and third, and they scored on Javier’s double to right field to tie the game at 4-4.  Kearns then relieved Sadowl and was able to escape without any more damage.

The Retrievers finally took the lead for good in the bottom of the inning, scoring five runs as Howard’s defense fell apart, committing four errors. Griffith led off the inning with a home run. Left fielder Courtney O’Hara reached on an error, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Underwood, and scored on an error that allowed designated player Carla O’Rourke to reach base. Shirk then doubled to left field to put runners on second and third. With two outs, Denischuk crushed her team-leading fifth home run over the right field wall to put UMBC up 9-4.

But the Bison didn’t go down without a fight, as they manufactured a final run off Kearns in the top of the seventh. Pinch hitter Jillian Johnson singled to center and scored on a single by Charles. With runners on first and second, Kearns was able to avoid more damage when Scott lined a shot to Shepherd for an unassisted double play.

Kearns (2-1) was credited with the win after pitching 1.2 innings in relief, allowing one run on two hits. Taylor pitched the first four innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out six. Sadowl gave up two runs on four hits and a walk and struck out one in 1.1 innings of work.

Dale McNeal suffered the hard-luck loss for Howard, as she pitched the complete game and allowed all nine runs, only four earned, on eight hits and a walk while striking out three. She also gave up three Retriever home runs.

Shirk, Shore and Denischuk each had two hits from the top of the UMBC lineup, and Denischuk drove in six of the Retrievers’ nine runs. Shirk scored three runs in the game while Shore crossed the plate twice.

Javier and Charles were each 3-for-4 for the Bison, who managed 13 hits off Retriever pitching.

Denischuk was 4-for-6 (.667) on the day with a home run, six RBI, two runs scored and seven total bases for a 1.167 slugging percentage. Shirk was 3-for-8 (.375) with three runs scored.

In other Dawg Pound Tournament action on Friday, St. Francis defeated Maryland-Eastern Shore, 11-0, in five innings; St. Francis defeated Howard, 17-6, in five innings; and Vermont defeated UMES, 7-0, in seven innings.

Action continues all day Saturday on day two of the Second Annual UMBC Dawg Pound Tournament. The Retrievers will take on America East rival Vermont at 2 p.m., and UMES at 4 p.m. The day leads off with Vermont/Howard at 8:15 a.m., followed by UMES/Howard at 10:10 a.m. and St. Francis/Vermont at 12:05 p.m.

Second Annual UMBC Dawg Pound Tournament

Friday, March 10, 2006 – Pool Play
St. Francis (Pa.) 11, UMES 0 (5 innings)
St. Francis (Pa.) 17, Howard 6 (5 innings)
Vermont 7, UMES 0
UMBC 6, St. Francis (Pa.) 0
UMBC 9, Howard 5

Saturday, March 11, 2006 – Pool Play
8:15 a.m. Vermont vs. Howard
10:10 a.m. UMES vs. Howard
12:05 p.m. St. Francis (Pa.) vs. Vermont
2:00 p.m. UMBC vs. Vermont
3:55 p.m. UMBC vs. UMES

Sunday, March 12, 2006 – Bracket Play
9:00 a.m. No. 4 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed
11:00 a.m. No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed
1:00 p.m. No. 1 Seed vs. No. 4/5 Winner
3:00 p.m. Championship Game