UMBC

Reilly Ward hit .500 (8-for-16) with five doubles, five RBI and seven runs in five games.

Georgetown, Del.-The UMBC softball team defeated Drexel, 6-4, in the final game of pool play on the last day of the Delaware State Bash at the Beach and earned one of four top seeds in the medal round but fell to St. Peter’s, 14-11. The Retrievers are now 20-6 on the season after a 4-1 weekend.

UMBC took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning against Drexel, as senior Jessica Griffith (Linthicum, Md./Glen Burnie/Anne Arundel CC) walked and junior Krissy Licursi (Sussex, N.J./Vernon Township/Sussex CC) doubled to put runners on second and third with one out before sophomore Carla O’Rourke (Endicott, N.Y./Union Endicott) singled Griffith home.

The Dragons took a 4-1 lead with two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings, but the Retrievers exploded for five runs in the top of the sixth, highlighted by four walks and a grand slam by sophomore Stevie Shore (New Carlisle, Ohio/Northwestern) for the eventual 6-4 victory.

Junior Jessica Taylor (Baltimore, Md./Mount de Sales) started the game for UMBC and allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks in 3.1 innings of work. Senior Lauren Nicholson (Audubon, N.J./Paul VI) entered the game with one out and a runner on third after two runs had scored in the fourth, but got two strikeouts to end the inning without any further damage. She allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out four in 3.2 innings and picked up the win to improve to 8-0 on the season.

Retriever batters only managed four hits off Drexel pitching but were very patient at the plate, working 12 walks.

At 4-0 on the weekend in Pool B, UMBC was one of three undefeated teams at the end of pool play, joining Providence and Marist. By runs allowed, the Retrievers earned the third seed and faced St. Peter’s the champion of Pool D, in the medal round.

In a slugfest, the teams combined for 37 hits in a marathon game that lasted just under three hours.

The Peahens took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first off freshman Krista Kearns (Santa Fe Springs, Calif./Santa Fe), then added three more in the second for a 4-0 advantage.

But the Retrievers answered back with six of their own in the bottom of the second, as Griffith and Kearns singled and senior Ashlea Underwood (Visalia, Calif./Central Valley Christian/Reedley JC) reached on an error to drive in one run. Sophomore Kali Shirk (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) then walked to load the bases with no outs before runs scored in the next four at-bats.

Junior Reilly Ward (Olney, Md./Sherwood) singled in Kearns, junior Melanie Denischuk (Poway, Calif./Hugh Sutherland (Carstairs, Alberta)/Indian River CC/Auburn) hit a two-run single, Shore hit an RBI groundout and sophomore Dana Shepherd (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills) drove in Denischuk with a single to give the Retrievers the 6-4 lead.

St. Peter’s scored four more in the top of the third off reliever Brittany Boyd (Baltimore, Md./North County/East Carolina) to take an 8-6 lead, but UMBC got one back in the bottom of the inning on singles by Underwood and Ward to pull back to within one at 8-7.

St. Peter’s plated another in the top of the fourth to go back ahead by two at 9-7 before the Retrievers notched three in the bottom of the fifth to go back ahead at 10-9. Kearns singled, Underwood reached on an error and O’Rourke and Kearns hit back-to-back RBI singles for two runs. Denischuk reached on another error to drive in the third.

In the top of the sixth, senior Amy Sadowl (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro Horsham), the Retrievers’ third pitcher of the game, allowed five runs, all earned, as the Peahens took the lead for good at 14-10.

UMBC made it exciting in the bottom of the seventh as Underwood singled for her third hit of the game and scored on an RBI by Shirk. With two outs, Ward doubled off the fence and Denischuk walked, but Shore grounded out hard to third base to end the game, 14-11.

Kearns allowed six runs (three earned) on seven hits and three walks in two innings of work. Boyd gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits in two innings, and Sadowl allowed five runs on eight hits in three innings and suffered the loss.

At the plate, Shirk was 2-for-4 with three RBI, while Ward was 3-for-5 with two RBI and Denischuk was 1-for-3 with two RBI. In addition, Underwood and Griffith were 3-for-4 and Kearns was 2-for-4.

On the weekend, Denischuk went 8-for-15 with four runs scored, two doubles, a home run and nine RBI, while Ward was 8-for-16 with seven runs scored, five doubles and five RBI. Shirk hit 8-for-19 with seven runs scored, four RBI, a triple and three stolen bases, Shore went 6-for-18 with two runs scored, a grand slam and eight RBI, and Griffith was 7-for-14 with two runs scored and two RBI.

The Retrievers return home to host Morgan State on Tuesday, March 21, at 3 p.m. at UMBC Softball Stadium.