THE BASICS:

GAME 1 RESULT: No. 3 Albany 7, No. 6 Hartford 1
GAME 2 RESULT: No. 5 UMBC 4, No. 6 Hartford 0
LOCATION: Binghamton, N.Y. (Bearcats Sports Complex)
RECORDS: Albany (32-16), Hartford (6-45), UMBC (25-30)

THE LEAD:
The University of Hartford softball team saw its season come to an end, as it was defeated by No. 3 seed UAlbany and No. 5 seed UMBC on the opening day of the America East Tournament. It marked the final games in the careers of seniors Jenice Aloyo, Peyton Fisher and Sawyer Fried.

GAME 1: NO. 3 ALBANY 7, NO. 6 HARTFORD 1
Danielle DeMarco hit an RBI double, but UAlbany's Devin Durando was very strong in the circle, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning, as the Great Danes took the opening-round game of the America East Tournament. Marisa Ferguson and Alex Saharek each added base hits in the loss for the Hawks.
 
Durando went for the full seven innings, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out five. Donna Conrad went 3-for-3 for the Great Danes, while Maggie Cocks had two doubles, scored twice and drove in two runs. Bianca Ross was carded with the loss for Hartford.

HOW THEY SCORED, GAME 1:
• Albany struck quickly, getting three singles and a double to plate a three-spot in the bottom of the first.
• Ross settled in at that point, holding the Great Danes off the scoreboard in the second, third and fourth to keep things close.
• On the other side, Durando was strong, getting into a little trouble in the top of the third with a pair of walks, but otherwise keeping the Hartford offense at bay through the first five innings.
• UAlbany got a run back in the bottom of the fifth on a pair of hits, but DeMarco turned a brilliant double play on a diving stab of a liner to end the inning there and keep the score 4-0.
• Hartford got on the board in the top of the sixth, as Kylie Dazalla drew a walk, moved to second on a groundout, and came around to score on DeMarco's RBI double to left center, making it 4-1.
• The Great Danes tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth on four hits to push the lead to 7-1.

GAME 2: NO. 5 UMBC 4, NO. 6 HARTFORD 0
Kim Puccio pitched a tremendous game for UMBC as the Retrievers eliminated the Hawks from the 2016 America East Tournament. Puccio allowed just one hit in going the full seven innings, and Carly Lesko hit a solo home run for UMBC.
 
Fried had the lone hit for the Hawks. Ross was carded with the loss after pitching all six innings for Hartford.
 
HOW THEY SCORED, GAME 2:
• Both pitchers kept the opponents scoreless early on, with Ross working around hits in the first and second, then stranding the bases loaded in the bottom of the third after strong defensive plays by Dazalla and Aloyo.
• UMBC's Kim Puccio was just as strong, holding the Hawks hitless through the first four innings and working around a pair of baserunners.
• The Retrievers cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth, using three hits, the final one a double by Bridget O'Malley, to take a 1-0 lead.
• The Hawks got their first hit on a Fried single in the top of the fifth, but Puccio worked out of danger.
• UMBC made it 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth when Carly Lesko hit a home run to straight away center.
• The Retrievers tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on a pair of hits and two errors to make it 4-0.
• Puccio finished off the game with a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh.