THE BASICS:


GAME 1 RESULT: UMBC 9, Hartford 8
GAME 2 RESULT: UMBC 4, Hartford 3
LOCATION: UMBC Softball Stadium (Baltimore, Md.)
RECORDS: UMBC (22-28, 5-10 America East); Hartford (3-43, 0-16)

THE LEAD:
UMBC closed the regular season with a pair of come-from-behind, walk-off victories over the Hartford softball team on Saturday. Both squads will now play in the America East Tournament starting on Wednesday.
 
GAME 1: UMBC 9, HARTFORD 8
Lexi Wilkerson went 2-for-2 with a three-run homer, but UMBC got a walk-off grand slam off the bat of Toni Santonastasso to come from behind and knock off the Hawks.
 
Elizabeth Newkirk had two hits and scored twice for the Hawks in the loss, while Kylie Dazalla drove in a pair of runs as well.
 
Carly Lesko went 3-for-4 in the win for the Retrievers, while Jaclyn Buckley and Chelsie Delperuto each drove in a pair. Nicole Casagrand collected the win out of the bullpen, allowing two hits and two runs over four innings.
 
HOW THEY SCORED, GAME 1:
• The Hawks opened the scoring in the top of the second, with Dazalla delivering a two-run triple and Megan Wynn bringing her home on a grounder to make it 3-0.
• UMBC responded with a three-spot in the bottom of the frame, two on Delperuto's double, to knot things up 3-3.
• Wilkerson helped the Hawks come right back, drilling her sixth home run of the year, a three-run shot, to put the visitors up 6-3.
• Two more runs came in for the Hawks in the top of the fourth, with a Newkirk single and some aggressive baserunning plating Wynn and Newkirk to make it 8-3.
• UMBC got two runs back on Buckley's two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth to trim the lead to three.
• The score remained that way until the bottom of the seventh, when Santonastasso delivered a walk-off grand slam to end the game.
 
GAME 2: UMBC 4, HARTFORD 3
The Retrievers delivered another come-from-behind win in game two, with Lesko's RBI double in the bottom of the seventh giving UMBC a 4-3 win over Hartford.
 
Danielle DeMarco hit a two-run homer in the top of the seventh to put the Hawks ahead 3-1, but the home squad scored three in the bottom of the frame to sweep the doubleheader. DeMarco, Newkirk and Wynn each had two hits in a losing effort for Hartford.
 
Maddie Daigneau had three hits in the victory for UMBC. Jessica Holte went the full seven innings to collect the win.
 
HOW THEY SCORED, GAME 2:
• UMBC opened the scoring with Daigneau delivering an RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the third.
• The score remained that way until the top of the sixth, when Wynn brought home Kristen DeCiantis on a double to left.
• DeMarco put the Hawks ahead with her third longball of the season, scoring Newkirk as well, making it 3-1.
• The Retrievers used four hits and a walk to plate three runs in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win.
 
UP NEXT:
The Hawks will take on the No. 3 seed in the opening round of the America East Tournament on Wednesday at 1:30. That will either be UAlbany or Stony Brook, pending the outcome of Saturday's doubleheader between the Seawolves and Binghamton. The Bearcats will play host to the tournament for the second-straight year.