UMBC

Senior Joe Fowler was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI on Tuesday night.

BALTIMORE—The UMBC baseball team swept the season series against Navy for the first time since beginning a two-game series during the 2002 season as the Retrievers (9-16) edged the Midshipmen (20-12), 8-7, at The Baseball Factory Field at UMBC on Tuesday night.

Senior Joe Fowler (Wilmington, Del./St. Mark’s) led the Retrievers on the night, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBI, and double, while junior Shawn Retz (Baltimore, Md./Western Tech/Catonsville C.C.) contributed three RBI while going 2-for-5.

Freshman Travis Pearson (1-0) (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) earned the first win of his collegiate career as he pitched two scoreless innings in relief and gave up just one hit while fanning two batters.  Junior Ryan Morse (Frederick, Md./Catoctin/Chesapeake JC) earned his third save of the year after pitching one scoreless inning in relief that saw just hits, while junior Dan Blewett (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) also pitched a scoreless and hitless inning in relief.

Mike Guadagnini led the Mids in the loss as went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, three batted in, and tallied back-to-back home runs in the fourth and sixth, while Chris Murray (3-1) was tabbed with the loss after giving up three runs on five hits, while striking out one in two innings of work.

Navy struck early as leadoff batter Michael Speciale homered to start off the game and some early wildness by redshirt freshman Dave Divita (Mayfield Village, Ohio/Mayfield) which put three batters on base and a Retriever error gave three more runs to the Mids for a 4-0 lead.

The mirroring began in the bottom of the third however, as they Retrievers put up their own four-run inning started by a two-out walk by junior Wink Nolan (Ellicott City, Md./Calvert Hall/Maryland), the national leader in doubles per game (0.63/gm through 4/7).

Junior Scott Peddicord (Columbia, Md./Long Reach) singled with a hard-hit ball that dropped just between right and center to score Nolan and after another walk to put Fowler on base senior Will Delawter (Frederick, Md./Catoctin/Chesapeake JC) singled up the middle to plate Peddicord.  After being hit by pitch junior Tom Meaney (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem) loaded the bases for the Retrievers and Retz’s single just over the second baseman’s head brought two runs in to knot the score at four.

The Mids broke that tie quickly as the second batter of the fourth, Guadagnini homered to center and the Retrievers mirrored that score with an inning that saw three batters walked and an RBI single by Fowler to knot the score once again, this time at five.

Neither team would score in the fifth, and it was Guadagnini again in the sixth that gave Navy a two-run lead, 7-5, with a two-run shot high over the right field fence, but the mirroring stopped once the Retrievers came up in the bottom of the inning.

Nolan started things off with a leadoff double, his 16^th of the season, before freshman Casey Medairy (Elkridge, Md./Howard) reached on a walk and Fowler brought Nolan in to score with a single to left and then he and Medairy advanced on base on a throwing error by the left fielder.  Tom Meaney added a one-out groundout RBI and Retz once again came through in the clutch as he tallied a two-out RBI single down the third-base line as the Retrievers took an 8-7 lead.

Both teams would remain scoreless for the remainder of the game as the Retrievers cruised to their first-ever series sweep of the Midshipmen after an 18-6 rout in Annapolis on Mar. 5.

The Retrievers travel to Vestal, N.Y. this weekend for their second conference series as they face Binghamton in a four-game affair beginning with a 3:00 p.m. contest on Friday.