Binghamton, Stony Brook, Maine Victorious on Day 1 of #AESB Tourney
VESTAL, N.Y. – Home runs and solid pitching highlighted Day 1 of the 2018 America East Softball Championship as Binghamton, Stony Brook and Maine all posted victories Wednesday at the Bearcats Softball Complex.
The fifth-seeded Bearcats beat fourth-seeded Maine, 3-1, in the first game of the day while third-seeded Stony Brook rode Melissa Rahrich’s performance to a 5-1 victory over sixth-seeded UMBC in game two. The Black Bears bounced back with a 5-3 win over the Retrievers in the first elimination game of the tournament.
Binghamton 3, Maine 1
Lauren Martinez went 2-for-3 with a home run and Rayn Gibson allowed just one run in a complete-game effort to send Binghamton to the winner’s bracket. The Bearcats scored single runs in the first, fourth and sixth innings, including Martinez’s second homer of the year in the sixth. Alyssa Derrick accounted for Maine’s lone run with a solo homer in the sixth and the Black Bears put two runners on in the seventh, but Gibson, who allowed just six hits, induced a fly out to left to end the game.
Stony Brook 5, UMBC 1
Melissa Rahrich’s third inning three-run home run led Stony Brook to a win in its America East Championship opener. After plating a run in the first innings, Rahrich belted a long home run to straight-away center in the third to stake the Seawolves to a 4-0 lead. Rahrich, the America East Player of the Year, went 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBI. She also earned the win in the circle, allowing just one run in a complete game effort. Carly Lesko was one of six Retrievers with hits. She had an RBI triple in the fourth.
Maine 5, UMBC 3
Alyssa Derrick crushed a two run home run in the home half of the fifth as Maine avoided elimination and moved onto day two. With the game tied 3-3, Derrick belted a deep shot to right center field with two outs in the fifth to give Maine a 5-3 lead. Annie Kennedy, a second-team All-Conference selection, picked up the win in relief as she allowed no earned runs in five innings of work out of the bullpen.
Binghamton will face top-seeded Albany in the first game Thursday at 11 a.m. while Stony Brook will play second-seeded Maine at 1:30 p.m. Maine will play the lowest seeded team among the losers of the early games at 4 p.m.
Visit Championship Central for links to box scores and highlights from Wednesday's game and watch live and live stats links for Thursday's games.
Follow @AmericaEast and @AEDigitalNet on Twitter to get the real-time championship updates. Use the #AEChamps and #AESB hashtags to join the conversation.
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