UMBC

Amanda Fefel threw UMBC's first shutout of the season and also went 3-for-6 at the plate.

BALTIMORE—The UMBC softball team (3-7) split a pair of games with George Washington (3-6) Tuesday afternoon at UMBC Softball Stadium in the Retrievers’ home opener. The Colonials took the first game, 3-1, but the Retrievers won game two, 5-0.

Game one featured solid pitching on both sides, as both pitchers went the distance. Amanda Gabriel got the win for George Washington after allowing just one run on four hits while striking out eight and walking none. UMBC freshman Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) fell to 1-3, as she gave up three runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out three.

The Retrievers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a solo home run by senior designated player Ashley Gray (Pasadena, Md./Northeast/Delaware State), her first of the season. But Gabriel settled down after that, retiring 10 straight batters at one point in the game.

Weigman breezed through the first three innings, allowing just one base runner in each frame, before running into trouble in the fourth. Colonial shortstop Katie Terrazas led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a passed ball. Weigman appeared as if she would escape the jam, as she got the next two batters on a groundout and a strikeout, but catcher Elisa Van Kirk homered down the left field line to give George Washington a 2-1 lead.

An inning later, Gabriel helped her own cause with a solo shot to center to put the Colonials on top, 3-1.

The Retrievers threatened in the bottom of the seventh, putting runners on second and third with two outs, but they were stranded there.

Gray picked up two of UMBC’s four hits in the game, while Terrazas led the Colonials offensively with a 2-for-2 effort.

Sophomore Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) was brilliant on the mound in game two, allowing just six hits and one walk while striking out five in the complete game shutout, UMBC’s first of the season.

The Retrievers got on the board in the bottom of the second when designated player Krista Kearns led off with a double and scored on a sacrifice bunt by third baseman Emily Thompson (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) that led to a throwing error by the third baseman, who had fielded the hit.

UMBC then took control of the game with a four-run fifth. The first four Retriever batters singled, with two runs scoring on Gray’s base hit up the middle. After a strikeout, Fefel joined the hit parade with another single to drive in a third run, and after center fielder Julia Culotta (Street, Md./North Harford/Tennessee) walked to re-load the bases, Kearns hit a sacrifice fly to right to drive in the fourth run and put the Retrievers on top, 5-0.

The Colonials threatened in the top of the sixth, loading the bases with one out on two hits and a walk. But Fefel escaped the jam by striking out third baseman Carrie Higdon looking, the getting Van Kirk to pop up.

Gabriel suffered the loss in the second game, as she allowed all five runs (four earned) on nine hits and one walk in five innings. Higdon pitched a perfect final frame for George Washington.

Fefel and senior catcher Kali Shirk (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) led UMBC with two hits apiece, while Gray was 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run. Fefel and Gray were both 3-for-6 combined in the doubleheader.

The Retrievers return to action this weekend when they host the UMBC Dawg Pound Tournament. Action begins Friday, with UMBC’s first game against Central Connecticut State at 1:30 p.m.