UMBC

Katie Ferguson went 2-for-3 with a double.

BALTIMORE—The UMBC softball team (20-18, 5-7 AE) managed just four hits and could not overcome four big errors in a 10-1 five-inning loss to America East rival Binghamton (17-12, 6-3 AE) in the rubber match of the three-game series Monday afternoon at UMBC Softball Stadium.

The first three hitters in the Retrievers’ lineup – senior second baseman Lauren Brummell (Hanover, Va./Hanover), junior first baseman Katie Ferguson (North East, Md./North East/Cecil CC) and senior left fielder Julia Culotta (Street, Md./North Harford/Tennessee) accounted for all four UMBC hits.

The Retrievers manufactured a run in the bottom of the first, as Brummell was hit by a pitch to lead off the game, advanced to third on Ferguson’s double and scored on Culotta’s sacrifice fly.

But Binghamton first baseman Stephanie DeLuca led off the top of the second with her sixth home run of the season, which tied the game, and the Bearcats scored two more runs in the frame to take a 3-1 lead, then capitalized on three Retriever errors in the fourth to put up five more. The big hit in the inning was a two-out, two-run single by catcher Deannie Plemon.

The Bearcats added two more in the fifth, with the winning run scoring on a double by center fielder Meghan Tucker, who went 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs to pace Binghamton at the plate.

Senior Stephanie Weigman (Elkridge, Md./Archbishop Spalding) suffered the loss after giving up six runs (two earned) on six hits in three innings. Binghamton starter Rhoda Marsteller allowed one run on three hits in four innings to earn the victory.

The Retrievers return to action next weekend, when they visit league-leading Albany for a three-game series beginning Friday.