UMBC

Lauren O'Malley went 5-for-7 in Friday's doubleheader.

VESTAL, N.Y.—The UMBC softball team (16-13, 1-4 AE) snapped its five-game losing streak with a 6-1 victory in the first game of a doubleheader at America East rival Binghamton (14-8, 2-3 AE) Friday afternoon, but the Bearcats won the nightcap, 10-5.

Game 1: UMBC 6, Binghamton 1

The Retrievers used a four-run fourth inning to take control of the first game, scoring all four runs with two outs. Junior first baseman Malorie Weller (Round Hill, Va./Loudoun Valley/Kennesaw State) and junior designated player Lauren O'Malley (Pasadena, Md./Archbishop Spalding) plated the first two runs with back-to-back RBI singles, and both runners came home on a two-run double by senior catcher Amanda Page (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia/Monroe CC).

UMBC added to its lead in the seventh on RBI singles by junior second baseman Lauren Brummell (Hanover, Va./Hanover) and junior left fielder Lynn Pronobis (Waldorf, Md./McDonough).

Binghamton scored its lone run of the game in the bottom of the seventh on a one-out solo home run by shortstop Briana Andrews.

UMBC junior Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) went the distance the victory and improve to 8-6 on the season. She struck out 12, one shy of her season high, and allowed just four hits but also walked five batters. Rhoda Marstellar (7-4) suffered the loss for the Bearcats after allowing four unearned runs in five innings, while Kate Price surrendered the final two runs in two innings in relief.

Game 2: Binghamton 10, UMBC 5

The Bearcats jumped on the Retriever pitching early in the second game, scoring three runs each in the first, second and fourth innings.

The first three batters of the game reached for Binghamton, as catcher Deannie Plemon drove in the first run with a single. Two batters later, first baseman Stephanie DeLuca doubled in the second run before right fielder Kelly Schuldt plated another with an RBI groundout to make it 3-0.

UMBC got a run back in the top of the second when junior center fielder Julia Culotta (Street, Md./North Harford/Tennessee) was hit by a pitch and eventually scored on an error, but the Bearcats scored three more times in the bottom of the inning, all with two outs, on Plemon’s two-run double and DeLuca’s RBI single to give the hosts a 6-1 lead.

The Retrievers closed the gap in the fourth, scoring four times to pull to within one at 6-5. With one out, senior shortstop Jessica Vetock (Pasadena, Md./Institute of Notre Dame/CCBC-Catonsville), Brummell and senior third baseman Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) loaded the bases on consecutive singles. After Vetock scored on a wild pitch, senior right fielder Emily Thompson (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) blasted her fifth home run of the season over the left field fence.

But Binghamton came right back with three more in the bottom of the inning to put the game out of reach, with the big blow coming on a two-run homer by DeLuca. The Bearcats scored their final run in the fifth on an RBI double by designated player Jessica Phillips.

UMBC freshman starter Heather Brown (Pasadena, Md./Northeast) suffered the loss to fall to 6-5 on the season. She allowed six runs on five hits in 1.2 innings of work. Weigman surrendered three runs on four hits in 2.1 innings in relief, while Fefel pitched the final two innings and allowed one run on three hits. Kristen Emerling (7-1) picked up the victory for the Bearcats after giving up five runs (four earned) on six hits in four innings of work, while Price earned the save after pitching three scoreless innings in relief.

The teams will play the rubber match of the series Saturday at 12 p.m.