BALTIMORE, Md.—Facing a pitcher who led the nation in ERA a year ago, Villanova (14-8) struck first with two runs in the top of the third inning but eventually fell by a final score of 5-2 to UMBC (11-5) in the second game of a doubleheader at The Diamond at UMBC on Friday afternoon. The loss snapped an 11-game winning streak which was tied for the third-longest in school history.
 
Sophomore third baseman Chloe Smith (Sacramento, Calif.) and freshman right fielder Tess Cites (Horseheads, N.Y.) were each on base twice with a single and a walk, but they had the only Wildcats hits against Retrievers starting pitcher Courtney Coppersmith (7-1, 0.78 ERA). Smith and Cites had combined to hit three home runs in the opening game Friday when Villanova tallied a 12-2 victory in five innings. Senior first baseman Paige Rauch (Windsor, N.Y.) was also on base twice in the second game as she walked and was hit by a pitch.
 
The game was scoreless until the top of the third inning when Rauch walked on four pitches to start the inning and Smith followed with a single to right-center. Rauch went first-to-third on the hit and scored on a throwing error by the right fielder, with the miscue allowing Smith to get to second with nobody out. Walks to junior catcher Ryan Henry (Ramsey, N.J.) and Cites loaded the bases with one out, and Smith scored on a passed ball while senior starting pitcher Anissa Amarillas (Placentia, Calif.) was batting.
 
Amarillas (2-1) escaped jams in the first two innings and then found her groove in the middle innings, setting down seven of eight batters from the second inning through the end of the fourth. She carried a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth, but a fielding error in that inning led to three unearned runs as UMBC took the lead for the first time. A two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth extended the margin to 5-2. Amarillas wound up being charged with two earned runs over five-plus innings, while her seven strikeouts were just one off tying her career high.
 
A leadoff walk and consecutive singles loaded the bases with nobody out for the Retrievers in the bottom of the fifth inning. A throwing error on a fielder's choice to third allowed two runs to score and tie the game at 2-2, while a sacrifice fly brought home the go-ahead run. There was still just one out with runners at the corners at that point, but Amarillas got a fly ball to center and the Wildcats caught the lead runner in a rundown for an inning-ending 8-2-5-1-6 double play.
 
In the sixth inning, a leadoff single and a two-run home run added to the UMBC lead and freshman pitcher Caroline Pellicano (Norristown, Pa.) came on to get three outs to close out the game. Pellicano has worked four scoreless innings of relief in her last three appearances.
 
Coppersmith also settled down after issuing six walks in the first 3 1/3 innings. She retired the final 10 batters of the game in order and set down 14 of the last 15 she faced after the walk to Cites in the third inning.
 
Villanova returns to action for a home doubleheader against Delaware State next Tuesday (April 6).