The softball team (2-2) began the Retriever Classic at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County on a strong note, beating Morgan State (4-6) and Fairleigh Dickinson (4-4) on Saturday. But UMBC (9-1) beat the Bears in both games on Sunday, including the championship game.
Brown 9, Morgan State 8, 11 Innings
Saturday began with Morgan State scoring two runs in the top of the first inning with two hits, a stolen base and two errors on the Bears' part. Brown had a total of six errors in the game.
"We figured it would be a bit of a rough start because it was the first time we actually felt the dirt underneath us," as the team has had to practice indoors, said Head Coach DeeDee Enabenter-Omidiji.
But the Bears managed to find their footing. At the end of seven innings, Brown tied the game, 4-4. The game went to extra innings until Katie Rothamel '10 drove in Danielle Comissiong '11 for the winning run in the 11th.
Brown 7, Fairleigh Dickinson 5
The Bears led the game, 4-0, after the top of the third but allowed Fairleigh Dickinson to come right back with three runs. Pitcher Liz DiMascio '13 relieved Trish Melvin '12 and gave up just two more runs. The Bears posted three more runs in the seventh inning to win the game.
"The defense struggled and the pitching wasn't where it should've been, but the team just came together," DiMascio said.
UMBC 4, Brown 2
The Bears jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning Sunday morning against UMBC, but the host team answered right away with two runs of their own. UMBC scored two more runs in the fourth inning to clinch the game.
UMBC 6, Brown 5
Later that afternoon, the Bears faced UMBC again in the championship game.
"We really wanted to beat them," Rothamel said. "This time we felt more confident that we could beat them. But they had good hitters and their pitching was consistent."
UMBC came out swinging, leading the Bears, 4-1, after two innings. Though the Bears attempted to rally back in the seventh, their two runs were not enough to overcome the deficit.
"If we'd had (the rally) earlier on, we would've been much better off," Enabenter-Omidiji said. "But overall, we were pleased with what we saw" this past weekend.
