Softball

Bryant, Maine & UMass Lowell Advance After Day 1 of #AESB Championship

ORONO, Maine - The underdogs survive and advance to see another day in the #AESB tournament. No. 5 UMass Lowell took down the Retrievers, while the No. 6 Maine took down the Bulldogs in the first day of the 2024 #AESB Championship. 
 
The fifth-seeded River Hawks never trailed as they took down fourth-seeded UMBC 4-2 in the first game of the day while the second contest saw six-seeded Maine put together a complete comeback with six players scoring in their 9-7 win over third-seeded Bryant. Game 3 of the championship was postponed due to weather. 
 
Day 2 of the tournament on Thursday begins with the Game 4 starting at 11 a.m. followed by top seeded UAlbany hosting fifth-seeded UMass Lowell at 1:30 p.m., followed by No. 2 Binghamton taking on No. 6 Maine at 4 p.m. third/fourth-seeded Bryant/UMBC will take on the lowest-seeding losing team among the teams competing earlier in the day, at 4:00 pm.
 
2024 #AESB Championship Day 1 Recap
#5 UMass Lowell 4, #4 UMBC 2
  • The River Hawks started the scoring in the second on Emily Tow’s double that plated two. 
  • Emily Riggs homered to center field, cutting the lead to one for the Retrievers in the bottom of the 4th. 
  • Squaires singled brought in Mikayla Bryant to tie it up in the bottom of the 4th 
  • Santiago sent one to the back of left field and brought in Frederick, putting the River Hawks up by two runs in the bottom of the 5th (4-2).
 
#6 Maine 9, #3 Bryant 7
  • Bryant got off to an early start in the 1st with an RBI from Megan Marcel bringing in 2 runs. 
  • Rookie of the Year Makenna Coleman then brought home another run for the Bulldogs, sending a homer to center field to get off to an early lead.
  • In the 6th Cat Fallon had a response to the Bulldogs hitting a home run and sending in two runs to tie everything up at 3. 
  • The top of the 7th the Black Bears poured it on the Bulldogs scoring 4 runs on 4 separate RBI from Hernandez, Papushka, Margetis and Fallon all bringing in one runner. 
  • The Bulldogs tied it back up in the bottom of the 7th scoring 3 runs to make it 7-7 at the end of the 7 innings. 
  • Maine was able to come out with the win at the end of just one extra inning getting 2 runs off an error and a fielder's choice. 
 
#3 Bryant 6, #4 UMBC 2
  • The Bulldogs were first to strike in Game 3 with Coleman scoring off of an RBI from Larrow in the first inning. 
  • Coleman saw more success in the second inning with a single to center field, sending Rohwer to the plate and putting the Bulldogs up by 2. 
  • Marcel ran home off of an error from the Retrievers to put Bryant up 3-0 in the third inning. 
  • In the 4th, UMBC saw some life with a double from Riggs to center field that plated 2.
  • Cochran and Fee sent one home to extend the Bulldogs lead in the 5th and 6th innings making it 5-2. 
  • Coleman earned another RBI in the 6th after grounding out to shortstop. 
 
Stay up-to-date on the tournament by visiting Championship Central for streaming and live stats links. After the game, visit for box scores and recaps in addition to team information, tournament history and more.
 
Follow @AmericaEast on X (formerly Twitter) to get the real-time championship updates. Use the #AEChamps and #AESB hashtags to join the conversation.
 
ABOUT AMERICA EAST
Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference and its social media channels, @AmericaEast. 
 
- America East Conference – Where Champions Rise -