UMBC

Courtney O'Hara hit two home runs and drove in five in two games.

Baltimore, Md.-The UMBC softball team hit seven home runs in two games en route to a doubleheader sweep of non-conference opponent Coppin State, 13-2 and 15-1. Both games lasted five innings. The Retrievers improve to 39-12 on the season, while the Eagles fall to 12-27.

Coppin State got on the board first when first baseman Keshia Robinson hit a two-run home run in the top of the first inning. But those were the only runs UMBC starter Brittany Boyd gave up, as she shut the Eagles down for the final four innings on just one hit.

The Retrievers scored five runs in the second and eight more in the third to take a 13-2 lead and held on for the eventual victory. UMBC hit five home runs in those two innings.

First baseman Stevie Shore led off the second with a solo home run, catcher Jessica Griffith doubled and right fielder Michelle Olivieri hit a one-out homer to go ahead, 3-2. After another out, center fielder Kali Shirk reached on an error and left fielder Courtney O’Hara hit the Retrievers’ third long ball of the inning for a 5-2 advantage.

Shortstop Dana Shepherd singled to lead off the third and Shore hit her second home run of the day and 14th of the season for a 7-2 lead, and the Eagles committed three errors in the inning, leading to four unearned runs. Hitting for the second time in the frame, Shepherd hit her career-high sixth home run of the season, a three-run shot to center.

Boyd picked up the win and improved to 8-1 after allowing two runs on two hits and one walk in four innings. Jessica Taylor pitched a perfect fifth inning, striking out two of the three batters she faced.

Danielle Summerour took the loss for the Eagles, falling to 9-16. She allowed 13 runs (seven earned) on 11 hits and struck out three in the four-inning complete game.

Shore and Shepherd were each 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBI to lead the Retrievers at the plate. Griffith was also 2-for-3 with two doubles.

Pitching in her first game since March 19, game two starter Amy Sadowl gave up a leadoff home run to left fielder Christen Glascoe but did not allow another run in her three innings of work.

The Retrievers scored in all four innings and broke the game open in the last two frames with 12 runs in the third and fourth.

Third baseman Reilly Ward hit a one-out home run in the bottom of the first, giving UMBC a 2-1 lead after O’Hara scored on a throwing error. The roundtripper was her 12th of the season, tying her career high set last year. In the second, right fielder Carla O’Rourke tripled to drive in Olivieri for the Retrievers’ third run.

But the UMBC bats exploded and the Eagle defense fell apart, as the Retrievers scored five runs on five hits and three Coppin State errors. O’Rourke capped off the inning with her second RBI triple in as many innings.

UMBC added seven more runs on five hits in the fourth, an inning highlighted by a two-out, three-run home run by O’Hara, for the 15-1 victory.

Sadowl picked up the win, her first since March 12, and improved to 4-3 on the season. She allowed one run on four hits and one walk in three innings. Taylor was again perfect in her two innings of work and struck out two of the six batters she faced.

Cheryl Mastalerz suffered the loss for Coppin State to fall to 3-10. She allowed 15 runs (12 earned) on 13 hits and four walks in the four-inning complete game.

O’Rourke was 3-for-3 with two triples and three RBI, while O’Hara and Ward were each 2-for-4. O’Hara drove in three runs, while Ward scored three times.

The Retrievers return to action this weekend as they head to Burlington, Vt., to take on America East rival Vermont in a three-game series, with a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.

Notes: Ward (12), Shore (14) and Melanie Denischuk (22) have all reached double figures in home runs, the first time three Retriever teammates have done so in the same season… The 28 runs scored today give UMBC 400 on the season, a school record… The Retrievers now have 39 victories in 2006 and are one shy of the fifth 40-win season in school history. The last was in 2002, head coach Joe French’s first at UMBC, when they went 47-21, won the Northeast Conference championship and advanced to the College World Series.