Freshman Maddie Decker’s third homer of the season, a three-run blast, highlighted a five-run, two-out fourth-inning rally that gave the University of Maine softball team a come-from-behind 7-4 victory over Albany in the Black Bears’ America East Tournament opener Thursday in Vestal, New York.
UMaine, 26-19, will meet host and top seed Binghamton in Friday’s 11 a.m. winners bracket game in the double-elimination tourney.
Binghamton, 34-13, rallied from a 5-2 deficit to beat Stony Brook 7-6 on Jessica Rutherford’s homer in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Stony Brook eliminated UMBC 5-2 in the day’s final game.
Stony Brook will play the loser of the UMaine-Binghamton game at 1:30 p.m. Friday, and the survivor will face the UMaine-Binghamton victor in a championship round game at 4 p.m.
If a second championship round game becomes necessary, it will start at noon Saturday.
On Thursday, Albany, 32-17, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on three walks and two hit batsmen.
Albany pitcher Celeste Verdolivo retired the first two UMaine hitters in the fourth before Felicia Lennon doubled and America East Rookie of the Year Alyssa Derrick singled her home.
Meghan Royle and Kristen Niland each singled to tie the game before Decker belted her homer down the left-field line.
UMaine expanded the lead to 7-2 with two runs in the fifth on Rachel Carlson’s bunt single, Lennon’s run-scoring triple and an ensuing error on the play.
Albany got one back in the sixth on an error and three walks before AE Pitcher of the Year Erin Bogdanovich relieved winner Molly Flowers and induced an inning-ending groundout.
Albany scored another run in the seventh on Mackenzie Cleary’s double and Kayla Bailey’s RBI single, but Bogdanovich recorded a game-ending strikeout to earn her second save.
Lennon and Royle were the game’s only repeat hitters. Lennon tripled and doubled, and Royle doubled and singled.
Flowers, 11-10, allowed two hits and three runs, two of which were earned, over 5⅔ innings with four strikeouts, eight walks and two hit batsmen. Bogdanovich allowed two hits and a run with two strikeouts and no walks over 1⅓ innings.