In its final regular-season series, the Binghamton softball team hosted UMBC. After dropping games one and two, the Bearcats flipped the script on Senior Day, getting a dominant 10-3 victory.

“Super proud of our seniors, they all played really well today,” said Binghamton head coach Jess Bump. “I think it’s a little less emotional because obviously we’ll be playing here next week, but glad we could get a win for them.”

Game one saw BU (20-21, 7-8 America East [AE]) get shut out by the Retrievers (28-10, 12-6 AE). The Bearcats struggled to get anything going on offense as they were held to only two hits for the entire game. Their first hit didn’t come until the fourth inning when redshirt junior outfielder Chloe Morgan hit a single into left field. Binghamton’s only other hit came in the final inning thanks to senior utility Alli Richmond.

Sophomore pitcher Allison L’Amoreaux got the start on the mound. In 3.2 innings, she gave up only two runs, six hits and threw four strikeouts. Redshirt freshman utility Lindsey Walter came in for relief during the fourth inning. The Bearcat pitched the rest of the game and did not allow a single run. BU’s offense was unable to provide any run support, however, and fell 2-0.

“I think pitching- and defense-wise, we were really sharp,” Bump said. “[UMBC’s] pitching staff yesterday shut us down, but that’s what they’ve been doing all year … We knew that we were gonna have to pitch well and play good defense in order to keep the games tight and we did that.”

UMBC got on the board first in game two, scoring one run in the first inning. Binghamton earned its first runs of the day in the bottom of the second when senior infielder Makayla Alvarez hit a two-run homer to give the Bearcats a 2-1 lead. Despite the offensive output, BU was unable to maintain its lead. The Retrievers added two runs in the fourth inning, and then an insurance run in the fifth to win 4-2.

“[UMBC] is tough on the mound,” Bump said. “I think we know that if we get a walk, have an error and put one over the fence, they’re definitely beatable.”

Before game three, senior infielder Marissa Braito, senior pitcher Morgan Bienkowski, senior pitcher Sophia Pappas and Alvarez were all honored.

Richmond got the offense started early with an RBI double in the first inning, extending her hit streak to 10 games. Freshman utility Sarah Rende quickly followed, bringing Richmond home with a single into left field. This gave the Bearcats an early 2-0 advantage.

UMBC quickly responded in the second inning with a home run. Despite this offensive spurt, junior utility Quinn DeCicco responded with a homer of her own in the bottom of the second. Richmond also drove in a run off of an error in the field.

“I’ve definitely been in a little bit of a slump for the past few weekends,” DeCicco said. “So [it] felt good to get back to where I was at a few weeks ago.”

DeCicco struck again in the bottom of the third with a hard-hit single up the middle to bring in another run for BU. However, the Retrievers did not back down as they scored two runs in the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Binghamton attempted to put the game away. Morgan hit an RBI single and Richmond smacked a two-run double to give the Bearcats a commanding 8-3 lead. BU scored two more runs in the inning and was able to hold on to its lead to take a 10-3 win.

“I think that the [pitching] makes a big difference,” DeCicco said. “Also we just had a little bit of extra fire knowing it was Senior Day. We really tried to go in with a more offensive attack approach and just taking advantage of the good pitches that we get.”

Binghamton is slated to host the AE tournament starting Wednesday, May 11. The first game is against Hartford and is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.