UMBC

Kali Shirk broke out of a season-long slump at the plate with four hits on Sunday.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The UMBC softball team (2-6) split a pair of games at the George Washington Colonial Classic Sunday afternoon, falling to Canisius, 5-2, before defeating the host Colonials, 9-4. The tournament field was modified after Saturday’s action was canceled due to poor playing conditions at GW’s Mount Vernon Field, as Army did not participate as originally scheduled.

The Retrievers got on the board first against Canisius, scoring a single run in the bottom of the first. Senior catcher Kali Shirk (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) led off the game with a walk and stole second base, and senior pitcher Ashley Gray (Pasadena, Md./Northeast/Delaware State) also walked. The pair advanced on a sacrifice bunt by senior shortstop Dana Shepherd (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills), and Shirk scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore first baseman Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville).

But a five-run third inning was all Canisius needed to take control of the game. The Golden Griffins got six hits in the frame, including five straight with one out, and sent 10 batters to the plate. The big blows came on a two-run single by first baseman Cameron Norton and back-to-back RBI doubles by shortstop Ashley Bonetto and catcher Michelle Fridey.

UMBC got one run back in the bottom of the inning on four consecutive one-out singles by Gray, Shepherd, Fefel and left fielder Julia Culotta (Street, Md./North Harford/Tennessee), but the Retrievers stranded the bases loaded when the next to batters struck out.

Neither team scored after the third inning, with each team managing just four base runners over the final four frames.

No player had more than one hit in the game, as 14 different batters accounted for the game’s 14 hits, with seven by each team.

Gray (0-4) suffered her fourth loss of the season, as she allowed all five runs on seven hits and three walks in three innings. Freshman Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) and junior Krista Kearns (Santa Fe Springs, Calif./Santa Fe) were effective in relief, combining to pitch four no-hit innings with three walks.

Juliette Bowers (1-0) picked up the victory for Canisius (2-0) with four scoreless relief innings. Mallory Aldred started the game for the Golden Griffins and allowed two runs on five hits and three walks in three innings of work.

UMBC’s bats finally came to life against George Washington, raking up a season-high 14 hits. Shirk and Fefel each had three hits, while Shepherd slugged the Retrievers’ first home run of the season.

The Retrievers jumped out to a 7-0 lead after two innings. Shirk led off the game with an infield single and stole second, then scored on a base hit by Shepherd. After Fefel singled, Culotta doubled Shepherd home and both players came around to score on a sacrifice fly by third baseman Emily Thompson.

The next inning, Shepherd blasted a three-run home run to left field, scoring second baseman Jessica Vetock (Pasadena, Md./Institute of Notre Dame/CCBC-Catonsville), who had reached on an error, and Shirk, who reached on a bunt single. Fefel then singled, chasing Colonial starter Ali Pardo, and reliever Carrie Higdon allowed a double to Thompson but got out of a first-and-third jam with a strikeout.

George Washington scored four in the bottom of the third, loading the bases with no outs for center fielder Chrysanthi Halkiotis, who smashed a grand slam to right field. The Colonials then put runners on first and second with one out, but Fefel struck out designated player Amanda Holst and catcher Jackie Yaniga to end the threat.

UMBC got single runs in the fourth and fifth on an RBI double by Thompson and a squeeze bunt by Shirk. The game ended after five innings due to darkness.

Fefel (1-0) went the distance for the Retrievers to pick up her first win of the season after allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out five in five innings. Pardo (1-1) suffered the loss for GW, as she allowed seven runs (six earned) on eight hits in just 1.1 innings of work. Higdon gave up two runs on six hits while striking out four in the final 3.2 frames.

Fefel also went 3-for-3 with a run scored at the plate, while Shirk broke out of a season-long slump with a 3-for-4 effort, an RBI and two runs. Shepherd went 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBI and two runs scored, and Thompson’s 2-for-2 day included two doubles and two RBI. GW shortstop Katie Terrazas was the only Colonial with multiple hits, as she went 2-for-3 at the plate. UMBC out-hit George Washington, 14-6.

The Retrievers return to action Tuesday, March 4, when the host the same Colonials in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. at UMBC Softball Stadium.