UMBC

Senior Will Delawter earned the win in game two on Saturday.

BALTIMORE—The UMBC baseball team split a double-header with Maine, as it fell 6-3 in game one and tallied the most runs in a game in six years with a 21-8 victory in game two on Saturday at The Baseball Factory Field at UMBC.  The last time the Retrievers (11-21, 3-7 America East) tallied over 20 runs in a game was on April 28, 2002 when they notched a 23-13 win over Quinnipiac.

Senior Joe Fowler (Wilmington, Del./St. Mark’s) led the Retrievers, going 6-for-9 with three runs scored, seven RBI and a home run, while senior Will Delawter (2-3) (Frederick, Md./Catoctin/Chesapeake JC) picked up the win on the day, lasting five innings and giving up seven runs, six earned, on nine hits, while striking out four.  Sophomore Ed Bach (2-5) (Columbia, Md./Atholton) was tabbed with game one’s loss after going the distance and allowing six runs, three earned, on 13 hits, while fanning three batters in seven innings.

Billy Cather led the Black Bears (13-17-1, 2-4 America East), going 6-for-7 with four runs scored, two RBI, and a double, while Kevin Scanlan (2-2) earned the win, giving up just three runs, two earned, on 11 hits, while striking out six and Kyle Benoit (2-2) suffered the loss allowing six runs, three earned, on six hits.

The Black Bears broke a four-inning scoreless tie with an RBI single by Cather in the top of the fifth and then added three more in the sixth to take a 4-0 lead over UMBC.  Maine shortstop Tony Patane was also ejected in the sixth after arguing a play at the plate.

The Retrievers started to chip away at the lead in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single by Fowler, but left two runners on base and saw the Black Bears take a four-run lead in the seventh with two runs for a 6-1 advantage.

UMBC threatened again in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI single from junior Scott Peddicord (Columbia, Md./Long Reach) and Fowler hit into a Maine error that plated junior Brad Brainer (Chester, Md./Kent Island/Chesapeake JC), but Peddicord was caught in a rundown, leaving Fowler on base after the side was retired and the game ended, 6-3 in favor of Maine.

There would be no scoreless tie in game two as the Black Bears took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but the Retrievers would answer in the bottom of the inning with three runs of their own off an RBI single by Fowler, RBI double from Delawter and groundout RBI by junior Shawn Retz (Baltimore, Md./Western Tech/Catonsville C.C.).

Not to be outdone, Maine added a three-run inning of their own in the top of the second, but UMBC would take the lead for good in the bottom of the inning with three more runs after yet another Fowler RBI single, who went 4-for-5 with three runs and six RBI, and a two-RBI double by Delawter for a 6-5 lead.

A solo homer by junior Wink Nolan in the third (Ellicott City, Md./Calvert Hall/Maryland) solidified the lead for the Retrievers, before the Black Bears knotted the score at seven with two in the fifth, but the Retriever bats came alive in the bottom of the inning to score 14 runs on 10 hits for a substantial, 21-7 lead.

The Retrievers batted through the order twice, and saw three different Black Bear pitchers throughout the course of the half-inning which was started by a walk from Retz.  Senior Steve Russo (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley) started the scoring off with a Maine error that plated Delawter and Nolan followed with a bases-loaded triple to add another three runs to the Retriever total to bring freshman Rich Conlon (Vienna, Va./James Madison) to the plate.

Conlon brought in a run with an RBI double and Brainer mirrored his at-bat with an RBI double of his own before Fowler smashed a three-run homer to deep center and Delawter finally made the first out of the inning with a groundout to second as he started the second time through the Retriever order.

Russo added an RBI single and Nolan followed with the same before Brainer tallied two runs on single through the left side and Fowler added an RBI single up the middle to tally the 14^th and final run of the inning to bring Delawter to the plate for the third time, who made the final out.

The Black Bears notched one more run in the top of the seventh as the Retrievers cruised to the 21-8 win.

Both teams will continue the four-game series on Saturday with a 7:00 p.m. contest at The Baseball Factory Field at UMBC.