UMBC

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Trailing 5-0 to UMBC after the top of the fourth inning, the Navy baseball team scored nine unanswered runs, as the Mids rallied to capture a 9-5 victory over the Retrievers Tuesday at Max Bishop Stadium. "It was a great effort by our guys to make the comeback today," Navy head coach Steve Whitmyer said. "UMBC dominated the early part of the game, but we fought back. Our bullpen did an outstanding job, and I think our infield played well as a whole."Second baseman Chris Ashinhurst (So./Stafford, Va.) went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and scored two runs, while right fielder John Cocca (Sr./Whitehall, Pa.) went 3-for-5 with a double, a stolen base and scored a run. Shortstop Matt Lukevics (Fr./Tampa, Fla.) also recorded two hits, as the Mids pounded out 13 hits to tie a season high en route to their first midweek victory this season.Navy (16-22) fell behind 3-0 in the top of the first inning when UMBC plated three runs on four hits off Navy starting pitcher Ryan Naquin (Jr./Sweeny, Texas). Third baseman Brad Glascock singled up the middle to score center fielder John Shuler, while first baseman Greg DeBoy followed with a bases-clearing double to right center that scored shortstop Jared Boyd and Glascock.UMBC (23-14) added two more runs in the top of the fourth to take a five-run lead before the Mids' offense heated up in the bottom of the inning. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Navy designated hitter Matt Foster (Jr./Ventura, Calif.) walked and first baseman Rusty Hearn (Jr./Lake Wales, Fla.) doubled to right center. Ashinhurst then singled to left field, scoring Hearn and Foster from second and third respectively, while catcher David Woolsey (Sr./Columbia, S.C.) advanced to third. Lukevics' single to center field plated Woolsey and Ashinhurst, trimming the UMBC lead to 5-4.Cocca led off the bottom of the fifth with a bunt single and tied the game at 5-5 when he scored on Brad Hager's (Jr./Delray Beach, Fla.) two-out RBI-single down the left field line.In the bottom of the sixth, Navy took a 6-5 lead on center fielder Pete Curnow's (Fr./Morristown, N.J.) two-out RBI-single to left center off UMBC relief pitcher Chris Yetter, scoring Ashinhurst from second base.The Mids added two unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh when Hager reached on a fielding error with two outs by UMBC second baseman Dan Carpenter. Pinch hitter Trey Hargrove (Sr./Black Mountain, N.C.) and left fielder Craig Candeto (So./Orange City, Fla.) scored on the error, giving Navy an 8-5 advantage. Curnow scored from second base in the bottom of the eighth inning when Candeto reached on another fielding error by Carpenter to close out the scoring for the Mids.Navy relief pitcher Jake Miller (Jr./Santa Maria, Calif.) picked up his first-career win, while Yetter dropped to 2-2 with the loss. As a whole, five pitchers out of the Navy bullpen combined to work 5.1 innings, giving up just three hits and no runs with three strikeouts.