THE BASICS:

RESULT: UMBC 5, Hartford 0
LOCATION: West Hartford, Conn. (Hartford Softball Field)
RECORDS: Hartford (5-31, 1-7 AE); UMBC (19-25, 3-8 AE)

THE LEAD:
The University of Hartford softball team dropped a 5-0 decision in a rubber match with UMBC on Sunday afternoon. Alex Saharek went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, while Elizabeth Newkirk also smacked a two-bagger in the outing for the Hawks, who took one of three against the Retrievers on the weekend.

Morgan Peyou led the visiting squad with a pair of RBI, while Kaelin Jackson provided the go-ahead run early in the contest with a solo home run in the opening frame. Earning the win and improving to 10-10 on the year for UMBC was Jessica Holte. Bianca Ross, who dropped to 3-13 with the loss, allowed two earned runs and struck out a pair of batters.
                                                                                                       
HOW THEY SCORED:

• With Ross inside of the circle, the Hawks' defense got off to a strong start, retiring the first two Retrievers they faced on a ground out and a fly out. But Jackson managed to do some damage late in the frame, as she blasted a solo shot over the left field wall to give UMBC the early 1-0 lead.
• The game was a defensive battle from there, with Hartford posting the lone scoring threat in the bottom of the second. The Hawks would strand runners on first and second, though, as UMBC held on to the 1-0 edge for the next two innings.
• In the top of the fifth, the Retrievers capitalized on three costly Hawks' errors to scratch two more runners across home and extend their lead to 3-0. Chelsie Delperuto was the first to score, as she reached on an infield error with one out. Two more infield errors in back-to-back at-bats allowed her to move along the base paths and make it a 2-0 game. With two outs, Peyou's single to right field drove in Jaclyn Buckley from third for the final run of the frame.
• In the top of the seventh, UMBC added two more runs to its count to cushion its lead to 5-0. Buckley and Jordan Sganga, who opened the inning with back-to-back singles and advanced on a sacrifice bunt, both scored with one out in the frame. With Peyou in the batter's box, the Retrievers successfully converted on the squeeze play. In addition to Buckley scoring on the play from third, Sganga also crossed home on a wild throw down the third base line to push the Retrievers' lead to 5-0.

UP NEXT:
The Hawks remain home for midweek action, as they host the Siena Saints for a twinbill on Wednesday, April 20. First pitch from the Hartford Softball Field is slated to be tossed at 2 p.m.