Baltimore, Md.- UAlbany's Lauren Alcorn's 4-for-4 performance, including two solo homeruns, lead the Great Danes over UMBC, 5-4, in eight innings in game one of Sunday's doubleheader. Katie Wambold also when yard for the Great Danes to grab the season's first conference victory.
Brittany MacFawn (6-2) went the distance, throwing eight innings of four run ball on six hits and 10 strikeouts. MacFawn has now recorded four games this season of 10-plus strikeouts in a game.
UMBC grabbed the lead early in the contest, 4-1, after three innings. Taylor Hall, in the bottom of the first, started off the game with a two-run homer after teammate Caitlin Chance got on with a single to left field. The Retrievers added on to the lead in the bottom of the third with two more runs from the bat of Hall who hit her second home run of the game.
UAlbany struck back, to tie the game up at four, in the top of the fourth inning with three runs. Both runs would come via the home run, one by Katie Wambold which was a two-run shot and one by Alcorn which was her second of the day.
Both teams would not score a run for the next three innings until UAlbany in the top of the eighth from who else but Lauren Alcorn driving in her fourth run of the game with a double to left center to bring in teammate Charlise Castro to score the eventual game-winner.
UAlbany picked up right where they left off in game two scoring two runs in the top of the first to go up 2-0. Vicky McFarland led off the inning with a single up the middle, Taylor Franich followed with a single to right, Katie Wambold hit a sac fly to center to drive in McFarland then Charlise Castro reacheed on an error which brought in Franich.
UMBC would respond in the bottom half of the inning with a lead-off home run from thirdbaseman Jessica Warner to cut the deficit to one, 2-1.
The Great Danes would then go into cruise control adding two more in the third from a two-run double off the bat of Alexa Toole then two more in the fifth on back-to-back solo home runs from Katie Wambold and Charlise Castro.
Brittany Schwieger (6-2) pitched a complete game of seven-inning one-run ball, scattering just five hits and striking out nine batters.
UAlbany wraps up the three-game series against UMBC on Monday, March 26 at 12 p.m.
