UMBC

Dana Shepherd had three extra-base hits, including a grand slam, on Sunday.

WEST HARTFORD, Conn.—The UMBC softball team (13-16, 3-0 AEC) completed a three-game sweep of America East rival Hartford (11-5, 0-3 AEC) with a pair of shutouts Sunday afternoon at Campus Field. The Retrievers won the first game, 1-0, before taking game two, 8-0, in five innings. It marks the first time UMBC has swept its America East opening series since joining the conference in 2004.

Game 1: UMBC 1, Hartford 0

Freshman Stephanie Weigman bested Hartford hurler Amanda Singer in a pitchers’ duel in the opening game. Weigman improved to 7-8 on the season with her first career shutout, a one-hitter. She walked two batters and tied her career high with eight strikeouts.

Singer (4-3) allowed five hits and four walks while striking out seven in the complete game losing effort.

The Retrievers had a runner on base in every inning, including the bases loaded in the first, but they could not get on the board until the fifth, when second baseman Dana Shepherd doubled with two outs and scored on an RBI single by first baseman Amanda Fefel.

Weigman retired the first eight batters of the game before walking catcher Lindsey Anrico. Hartford’s only hit of the game came on a leadoff single by right fielder Amanda Sais in the fourth.

Five different Retrievers accounted for UMBC’s five hits, as the first five batters in the lineup each recorded one. The Retrievers left 10 runners on base.

Game 2: UMBC 8, Hartford 0 (5 innings)

Game Two was a different story for the Retrievers’ bats, as they jumped on Hartford pitcher Brittany Stratton for the second day in a row, reaching the reigning America East Pitcher of the Week for eight runs (four earned) on 11 hits and four walks.

Stratton worked in and out of jams in the first three innings, as UMBC stranded seven runners and left the bases loaded in the second.

The Retrievers finally got on the board in the fourth on an RBI double by left fielder Lauren Brummell, and RBI triple by Shepherd and a sacrifice fly by pitcher Ashley Gray.

In the fifth, Shepherd slugged a two-out grand slam to put UMBC on top, 7-0, and Fefel followed with a solo shot for the game-winning eighth run.

Pitching for the first time in 10 days while recovering from a knee injury suffered against St. Francis in the UMBC Spring Classic, Gray allowed two hits and one walk while striking out three in four innings. Fefel pitched a perfect final frame with two strikeouts.

Fefel led the Retrievers at the plate, going 3-for-3, while Brummell, Shepherd and first baseman Julia Culotta each had two hits. Shepherd and Brummell also scored twice, and Shepherd drove in five runs.

The Retrievers take a four-game winning streak into Tuesday’s doubleheader against Georgetown, which begins at 2 p.m. at UMBC Softball Stadium. UMBC has allowed just two runs during the streak.