UMBC

Amanda Fefel matched her career high with 13 home runs.

BALTIMORE—The UMBC softball team (25-23, 6-11 AE) split a doubleheader with America East rival Albany (19-21, 8-8 AE) Saturday afternoon at UMBC Softball Stadium. Junior Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) tossed a one-hit gem in a 1-0 victory in the series opener, but the Retrievers dropped the nightcap, 7-3, despite a pair of home runs by senior Amanda Fefel (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville).

Game 1: UMBC 1, Albany 0

Weigman struck out eight and did not allow a hit until Albany second baseman Michelle Connors led off the sixth with a single.

However, Great Dane starter Marissa Powell was nearly as good, surrendering just four hits in the game, and the pitchers were locked in a scoreless duel until the bottom off the sixth, when senior right fielder Emily Thompson (Niagara falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) hit a one-out triple, and pinch runner Ashley Carver (Swoyersville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) scored on a sacrifice fly by junior first baseman Malorie Weller (Round Hill, Va./Loudoun Valley/Kennesaw State).

Weigman retired the side in order in the seventh to earn her 12th victory and third shutout of the season, while Powell suffered the tough-luck loss to fall to 7-11. It was the fourth one-hit shutout tossed by UMBC pitchers this year.

Game 2: Albany 7, UMBC 3

Game two was a different story, as the Great Danes touched Weigman for five runs in the first two innings. Connors drove in four with a two-run homer in the first and a two-run double in the second. Albany also scored a pair of unearned runs in the fifth.

Fefel’s first homer of the game was a solo shot with one out in the first inning, and it was the only run the Retrievers scored until the sixth, when she blasted her second round-tripper after junior second baseman Lauren Brummell (Hanover, Va./Hanover) singled to lead off the inning.

Fefel tied her career high with 13 home runs on the year, the fourth-most in a single-season in UMBC history. She also increased her school-record career total to 43.

Weigman (12-12) suffered the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits in two innings. Fefel struck out six and surrendered two unearned runs on two hits in the final five frames. Albany starter Leah McIntosh (8-5) went the distance in the win, allowing three runs on five hits and striking out 10.

The teams meet again the rubber match on Sunday at 12 p.m. The game, which is UMBC’s season finale, is Senior Day; the Retrievers will honor four seniors – Fefel, Thompson, catcher Amanda Page (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia/Monroe CC) and shortstop Jessica Vetock (Pasadena, Md./Institute of Notre Dame/CCBC-Catonsville) in a pregame ceremony.