UMBC

Ashley Gray drove in five runs in two games and reached base in all four plate appearances.

BALTIMORE—The UMBC softball team (10-16) split a doubleheader with Bucknell (6-18) Wednesday afternoon at UMBC Softball Stadium. The Bison took the first game, 5-3, but the Retrievers rebounded to win the nightcap, 5-1. Senior Ashley Gray drove in five of UMBC’s eight runs on the day.

Game 1: Bucknell 5, UMBC 3

Game one was all Bucknell until the seventh, as designated player Erin Curatola hit a two-run home run with one out in the first and left fielder Lauren Fry hit a solo shot to lead off the third, chasing UMBC starter Amanda Fefel.

Junior Krista Kearns relieved Fefel and retired the first eight batters she faced, but she ran into trouble in the seventh, allowing two runs on four consecutive one-out hits, the big blow a two-run double by Fry that gave the Bison a 5-0 lead.

The Retrievers put two runners on base with two outs in the bottom of the seventh for pinch hitter Ashley Gray, who smashed the first pitch she saw over the fence in right-center field for her third home run of the season. UMBC then brought the tying run to the plate after left fielder Lauren Brummell singled, but she was stranded there, as Bucknell held on for the 5-3 victory.

Fefel (3-4) suffered the loss after giving up three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out two in two innings. Kearns was charged with two runs on five hits and one walk in five innings of relief. Christie Wiest (4-9) allowed three runs on seven hits in the complete game victory. She struck out two and did not walk a batter.

Fefel was the only Retriever with multiple hits in the game, as she went 2-for-3. Three bison collected two hits apiece, including Fry, who drove in three runs and scored twice.

Game 2: UMBC 5, Bucknell 1

The teams took a scoreless tie into the third inning of the second game before Gray drove in two runs with a two-out single to left. UMBC maintained its 2-0 lead until the sixth, when Brummell hit her first career home run, a three-run shot with two outs to put the Retrievers on top, 5-0.

UMBC starter Stephanie Weigman allowed just one hit through the first six innings but surrendered three in the seventh, including a one-out RBI double by Fry that ultimately chased her from the game.

Fefel came in and got the last two batters on a strikeout and a groundout to record her first save of the season.

Weigman (6-8) earned the victory after allowing just one run on four hits and three walks while tying her season high with eight strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work. Katie McDonald (2-7) was charged with five runs on seven hits and four walks in the complete game loss.

Brummell notched her first three-hit game of the season, going 3-for-4 with a career-best three RBI and two runs scored to lead the Retrievers at the plate. Catcher Kali Shirk also showed signs of breaking out of her season-long slump with a 2-for-3 effort and her first double of the season.

Fefel had her 36-game streak of reaching base safely snapped after going 0-for-3 in the game. She had not gone an entire game without reaching on either a hit or a walk since April 22 at Boston University.