UAlbany Softball Twice Defeats UMBC in Five Innings
Photo: Annie Johnson (above) stole five bases on Saturday, April 20. She now has a conference-high 32 this season. She ranks third in the nation in steals per game.
2013 STATS
ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany softball team swept UMBC (8-35,1-13 AE) in a doubleheader at Albany Field on Saturday, April 20, winning 8-0, 8-0. The Great Danes were victorious in both games by the eight-run mercy rule. Freshman Annie Johnson highlighted the batting-frenzy – going a perfect 5-for-5 with five stolen bases. UAlbany (27-10, 10-1 AE) has won 22 of their last 25.
In game one, the Great Danes put together all eight of their runs over the first three innings. They scored seven combined in the second and third.
After a sacrifice RBI by freshman Maggie Cocks in the first inning, UAlbany added three more in the second. Senior Lindsey Stout crushed her second homer of the season over the right field fence to put the score at 3-0. Sophomore Vicky McFarland later followed with a sac-fly to drive-in the team's fourth run.
Cocks led off the third with her team leading 12th double – advancing to third on a passed ball. Junior Charlise Castro followed with her sixth homer of the season. Johnson later followed with the fourth hit of the inning, a single to center field. She drove-in two with the hit, an 8-0 lead.
The Great Danes cruised to the five-inning mercy rule behind combined pitching efforts of juniors Brittany MacFawn and Emily Ostrom. MacFawn started and recorded the win. She went three innings, striking out five and allowing three hits. Ostrom pitched the final two innings and allowed two hits while striking out one.
In game two, UAlbany needed five full frames before the mercy rule was official. They scored two runs in the first and fifth innings and four in the third. Johnson was 3-for-3 at the plate with three runs scored and three stolen bases.
The Great Danes opened up the first inning with Castro singling Johnson home to score the first run. They added a second run off the bat of senior Kylie Apostolina. She hit the second RBI-single of the inning.
UAlbany put together their second four-run inning of the day in the bottom of the third. Again, Johnson found herself on the basepath with a single to center field. She was later driven-in as Cocks hit an RBI-single. Apostolina followed with a bases-clearing triple, her first of the season, to bring in two more runs. The score increased to 6-0 as freshman Kelly Costello hit a sacrifice to bring home Apostolina.
Apostolina, who was 3-for-3 in game two, added her third RBI of the day as UAlbany chalked on their final two runs to put the mercy rule into effect in the fifth inning. MacFawn (18-6) recorded her second win in three hours. She went the complete game, allowing three this and striking out three.
"Every game gets more important as the conference tournament draws near," said head coach Chris Cannata. "We focused more on base running this week. Annie [Johnson] continues to show just how fast she is."
UAlbany will finish this three-game series tomorrow at Albany Field. First pitch is set for noon. The Great Danes currently hold a half game lead over Binghamton University for first place in the conference standings.
