UMBC

Senior Steve Russo was 2-for-3 in the loss to Vermont on Sunday.

BALTIMORE—The UMBC baseball team fell in conference play against Vermont on Sunday, 13-5, at The Baseball Factory Field at UMBC.  The Retrievers (8-16, 1-3 America East) took the first game of the four-game series on Friday, but the Catamounts (8-10, 3-1 America east) claimed both games of the Saturday doubleheader and the Sunday finale to win the series, 3-1.

Junior Wink Nolan (Ellicott City, Md./Calvert Hall/Maryland) had a successful game going 2-for-4 with one run scored and senior Steve Russo (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley) had two hits in three at bats.  Senior Sean Rae (1-2) (Westminster, Md./Calvert Hall College/Frostburg) suffered the loss for the Retrievers allowing seven runs, three earned, on seven hits while striking out two in two innings of work. 

Justin Milo contributed to the Catamounts win by going 5-for-6 with three runs scored and two RBI.  Keith Rakus (1-3) picked up the win for Vermont after striking out seven and allowing five runs, one earned, and seven hits in 6.1 innings.

The game started off with a bang as the Catamounts scored three on a double by Kyle Henry after two errors were committed by the Retrievers to hold a 3-0 advantage going into the bottom of the inning, but a Catamount error also put the Retrievers on the board in the first.

Junior Shawn Retz (Baltimore, Md./Western Tech/Catonsville C.C.) started things off with an RBI single to center and senior Will Delawter (Frederick, Md./Catoctin/Chesapeake JC) followed by scoring on a Catamount error.  The Retrievers added two more runs to take a 4-3 lead with a two RBI double by senior Mark Lemon (Wilmington, Del./St. Mark's).

The second inning saw Vermont take back the lead for good after scoring four runs on four hits, for a 7-4 advantage, but both teams would remain scoreless for the next three innings.

Vermont broke the scoreless stretch with a big, five-run inning in the top of the sixth on two hits, including a three RBI triple by Kyle Massie to take the 12-4 lead.

The Retrievers scored one run in the bottom of the sixth when freshman Rich Conlon (Vienna, Va./James Madison) doubled to center field to cut the Catamount lead down to 12-5. 

Freshman Travis Pearson pitched one inning in relief in the seventh and struck out one while allowing only one hit.  Freshman David Divita (Mayfield Village, Ohio/Mayfield) also pitched one inning in relief and retired the Catamounts in order.

The final run would be scored by Vermont in the top of the ninth after Milo singled up the middle.

The Retrievers return to competition when they host the Navy Midshipmen on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. at The Baseball Factory Field at UMBC before traveling to Binghamton next weekend for a four-game series, including a Sunday game which will be broadcast via Time Warner Sports.