UMBC

Emily Thompson went 5-for-7 with a double and a homer in two games against Vermont.

BALTIMORE—Right fielder Emily Thompson (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) collected five hits, including a home run and a double, to lead the UMBC softball team (29-17, 7-6 AEC) to a pair of victories over America East rival Vermont (6-30, 3-10 AEC) Saturday afternoon at UMBC Softball Stadium. The Retrievers won the first game, 7-6, in eight innings, then took the nightcap, 3-2.

Game 1: UMBC 7, Vermont 6 (8 innings)

Thompson’s one-out homer in the second inning gave UMBC a 1-0 lead, and the Retrievers added an unearned run in the fourth.

The Catamounts cut their deficit in half in the top of the fifth on an RBI double by left fielder Kellin Haley, then tied it in the sixth on an RBI double by catcher Rachelle Boone.

But the Retrievers scored four times in the bottom of the inning, as pinch hitter Lauren O'Malley (Pasadena, Md./Archbishop Spalding) walked with the bases loaded, and second baseman Lauren Brummell (Hanover, Va./Hanover) drove in another with a sacrifice fly before a two-run single by left fielder Malorie Weller (Round Hill, Va./Loudoun Valley/Kennesaw State) made it 6-2.

Not to be outdone, Vermont scored four runs on five hits in the top of the seventh, all coming with two outs, and first baseman Jeanine Connolly’s RBI single tied the game at 6-6.

But UMBC catcher Amanda Page (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia/Monroe CC) led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, and pinch runner Amanda Damiano (Tamaqua, Pa./Marian Catholic) stole second before third baseman Krista Kearns (Santa Fe Springs, Calif./Santa Fe) executed a sacrifice bunt to put the runner on third base with just one out for shortstop Jessica Vetock (Pasadena, Md./Institute of Notre Dame/CCBC-Catonsville), whose sacrifice fly to left field drove in Damiano for the winning run.

UMBC starter Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) retired the first 12 batters she faced and picked up the victory to improve to 18-12 on the season. She allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits and struck out 10 without walking a batter in eight innings. Caitlin Monahan, who entered the game in the eighth, suffered the loss to fall to 1-12.

Game 2: UMBC 3, Vermont 2

Weller hit a one-out home run in the bottom of the first to give UMBC an early 1-0 lead.

Vermont scored twice in the second on a two-run double by designated player Allison Daggett, and the Catamounts held their 2-1 lead until the fourth, when pitcher Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) tied the game with an RBI single.

The Retrievers took the lead in the fifth on Kearns’ RBI infield hit, which proved to be the game-winner.

Fefel (10-4) went the distance to earn the victory after allowing two runs on five hits. Monahan (1-13) again suffered the loss in relief, giving up one run on three hits in 2.1 innings of work.

The teams conclude the three-game series on Sunday at 12 p.m. at UMBC Softball Stadium.