UMBC

Lauren Brummell went 4-for-9 with two home runs against George Washington.

BALTIMORE—Junior second baseman Lauren Brummell (Hanover, Va./Hanover) blasted two home runs to lead the UMBC softball team (10-2) to a doubleheader split with George Washington (3-6) Thursday afternoon at UMBC Softball Stadium. The Retrievers took the first game, 8-3, to extend their winning streak to 10, before dropping the nightcap, 3-2, in nine innings.

Game 1: UMBC 8, George Washington 3

The Retrievers scored five runs before recording an out in the game, as the first eight batters reached base, chasing George Washington starter Kara Clauss from the game.

UMBC junior Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) retired 10 of the first 11 batters she faced before allowing back-to-back one-out singles in the fourth. The Colonials scored their first run of the game on a passed ball, but Weigman struck out the final two batters of the inning to limit the damage.

The Retrievers got the run back in the bottom of the inning, as senior third baseman Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) led off with a double, and junior pinch runner Amanda Barker (Waterville, Maine/Messalonskee/Maine Maritime) came around to score on an error.

UMBC then made it a seven-run game in the fifth when Brummell lifted a two-run homer over the right field fence.

George Washington scored a pair of unearned runs in the seventh on just one hit, as the Retrievers committed two errors in the inning. But Weigman stranded the bases loaded when she induced second baseman Julie Orlandi to ground back to the pitcher’s circle to end the game.

Weigman (5-1) struck out 13 batters in the complete-game victory. She gave up four hits and did not allow an earned run. Clauss (1-5) was charged with five runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks without recording an out in the loss, while reliever Heidi Penna gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits and struck out five.

Brummell paced the Retrievers at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Third baseman Elisa Van Kirk picked up two of the Colonials’ four hits in the game.

Game 2: George Washington 3, UMBC 2 (9 innings)

George Washington scored twice in the top of the first on an RBI single by shortstop Katie Terrazas and a run-scoring groundout by catcher Tara Fogarty. Brummell led off the bottom of the frame with a first-pitch home run to right to slice the Retrievers’ deficit in half.

UMBC freshman hurler Heather Brown (Pasadena, Md./Northeast) settled down after her rocky first inning, as she did not allow another hit until the seventh. Penna also kept the Retrievers off the base paths until the fifth, when UMBC loaded the bases but could not push across a run.

But the Retrievers did tie the score in the sixth, as junior left fielder Lynn Pronobis (Waldorf, Md./McDonough) hit a big two-out single to drive in sophomore pinch runner Amanda Damiano (Tamaqua, Pa./Marian), which eventually sent the game to extra innings.

Neither team scored in the eighth, but with one out in the top of the ninth, GW catcher Tara Fogarty doubled and pinch runner Amanda Zakeri advanced to third on a passed ball, paving the way for left fielder Autumn Taylor’s game-winning single.

Brown (4-1) suffered the tough-luck loss, as she allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and just one walk in the nine-inning complete game. Clauss (2-5) earned the victory in relief, as she allowed one run on four hits in 4.2 innings of work. Penna was also effective, allowing one run on four hits in the first 4.1 frames.

UMBC collected eight hits but stranded 11 runners on base. Thompson and Pronobis had two base knocks apiece. Taylor also had two hits to pace George Washington.