UMBC

Melanie Denischuk hit her 24th homer of the season, accounting for the Retrievers' only run of the game.

Orono, Maine-Boston University catcher Christy Leath’s one-out bases loaded single in the bottom of the seventh gave the fourth-seeded Terriers (28-28) a 2-1 victory over the third-seeded UMBC softball team (46-20) Saturday morning in the America East Championship semifinals at Kessock Field on the campus of the University of Maine.

The Retrievers have been eliminated from the four-team double elimination tournament, while Boston takes on Albany this afternoon to determine the conference champion.

UMBC’s season ends one win shy of tying the school record for victories, set at 47 by the 2002 team which won the Northeast Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Regionals.

The Terriers scored first, manufacturing a run in the bottom of the first inning on three singles. But the Retrievers tied the score in the top of the fourth on first baseman Melanie Denischuk’s second home run in as many games, a one-out solo shot to center field.

The two long balls snap Denischuk’s 13-game power drought, as they are her first since the final game of the regular season series against Boston U. on April 15, and they give her a UMBC-record 24 on the year.

But Boston starter Cassidi Hardy struck out the next five UMBC batters she faced and retired 11 of the final 12 batters of the game, including the last four on strikeouts as well. Retriever starter Lauren Nicholson was nearly as good, retiring 15 of 19 batters between the second and sixth innings.

However, Nicholson ran into trouble in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with one out for Leath, who singled to right to score the winning run.

Nicholson (19-5) went the distance but suffers the loss after allowing two runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out seven in 6.1 innings of work. Hardy picked up the complete game victory, as she gave up one run on just two hits, walking one and striking out 13 Retriever batters in seven innings.