UMBC

Mark Lemon drove in the Retrievers final two runs of the seventh inning with a triple.

ALBANY, N.Y.—An eight-run seventh inning propelled the UMBC baseball team to a 10-8 victory over conference rival, Albany, on Friday at Varsity Field.  The Retrievers (12-33, 3-14 America East) picked up their third conference win of the season, with the victory over the Great Danes (20-25, 7-10 America East).

Junior Will Delawter led the Retrievers, going 3-for-5 on the day with one run scored and two RBI, including a double and a home run, as well starting on the mound for the Retrievers.

Freshman Rob Hendry entered the game in the seventh inning for the Retrievers, picking up the win while seeing 2.0 innings of work.  Senior Bo Sauter also picked up a save, pitching a scoreless and hitless ninth inning.

The Great Danes started the scoring off to put the Retrievers in the hole, 4-0, after the third inning.  The Danes four-run inning was sparked by a leadoff homer by Dave West and followed by an RBI triple by Steve Wyland, RBI double by Tom Hill, and a Retriever error that scored Hill.

The Great Danes added two more runs to that total in the fourth off Wyland’s 2 RBI single, taking a convincing, 6-0 lead over the Retrievers. 

The Retrievers finally got in the board in the sixth off junior Steve Russo’s RBI double that plated senior Mike Scheffel, to cut the Dane lead to five.

Fly outs by senior Steve Gale and junior Mark Lemon in the top of the seventh didn’t seem to bode well for the Retrievers, but freshman Rick Phillips started the rally for the Retrievers with a two-out solo homer to center.  The Retrievers saw six more hits and one Albany error for a total of seven more runs off Russo’s RBI double, senior Steve Bowen’s RBI single, Gale’s 2 RBI single, Lemon’s 2 RBI triple, and the Great Dane error to take a 9-6 lead.  The Retrievers batted through the order, with Phillips making the final out of the inning.

Albany threatened by adding a run in the eighth and cutting the Retriever lead to two, but Delawter gave the Retrievers one more run in the ninth with a leadoff homer to center to give the Retrievers the 10-7 lead.  The Great Danes added one more run in the ninth but couldn’t overcome the Retrievers, falling 10-8.

The Retrievers and Great Danes continue the four-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 12:00 p.m.