VESTAL, N.Y. – Binghamton came through with a victory in the opening game of the day to advance to Sunday’s championship, while Bryant went 2-0 on Saturday to advance to its first-ever #AESB Championship game.
Brianna Roberts silenced the UMBC bats, giving up just two and allowing zero runs with some help from her defense to go with seven strikeouts in a 3-0 victory. The Bearcats advanced to their first championship game since 2015 with the win.
Bryant put up five runs in the third and two more in the fourth to hold off UAlbany in its first elimination game of the day. The Bulldogs then were held scoreless through the first five innings but scored twice in the sixth on UMBC and Grace McKillop shut the door to secure the 2-1 victory.
Tomorrow’s championship will begin at 8 a.m. with a second if necessary game scheduled for 30 minutes after the first contest, should Bryant beat Binghamton in the opener.
No. 1 Binghamton 3, No. 2 UMBC 0
- Neither team had any scoring changes in the first three innings, but in the bottom of the fourth Binghamton broke though as Maddy Dodig ripped an RBI single.
- The Bearcats were poised to score more but UMBC Mikayla Bryant made a leaping catch of a line drive and started a triple play to end the inning.
- An inning later Binghamton loaded the bases and Emma Lawson drew a walk to make it 2-0. Rachel Carey followed with an RBI groundout for the 3-0 advantage.
- Brianna Santos allowed just one runner over the final two frames to secure the shutout victory. She finished with 7.0 IP and just two hits allowed with seven strikeouts and three walks.
No. 4 Bryant 7, No. 3 UAlbany 5
- The Great Danes jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a pair of RBI singles. They added to their lead in bottom of the second on a Taylor Quinn RBI single.
- Bryant plated five runs in the top of the third. Sam Rohwer drove in the first run and a bases-loaded walk made it 3-2. Hannah Cochran drove in a pair for a 4-3 advantage.
- UAlbany responded in the bottom of the frame with two more runs, evening the score 5-5.
- In the bottom of the fourth, Makenna Coleman scored on a wild pitch and Meaghan Houk added a home run later in the frame for a 7-5 margin.
- Maddy Wachter was impressive in relief, going 5.0 innings with two earned runs, five hits and three strikeouts.
No. 4 Bryant 2, No. 2 UMBC 1
- UMBC opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning. Emily Riggs drove home Ella Squaires for the early 1-0 lead.
- Bryant couldn’t muster any offense until the top of the sixth. With a runner on, Sam Rohwer ripped a triple off the wall in right center to even the score 1-1.
- One batter later Houk drove a ball deep to left in foul territory and it was caught but Rohwer tagged up to score the go head run.
- Grace McKillop did the rest, retiring six of the last seven batters she faced to secure the 2-1 victory. She finished with six hits allowed, one walk and four strikeouts for her fourth win of the year.
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