UMBC

Junior Scott Peddicord tallied two runs in two games in the sweep of Albany.

BALTIMORE—UMBC baseball head coach John Jancuska notched his 650^th and 651^st wins on Friday, as the UMBC baseball team swept Albany, 9-7 and 10-5, in a doubleheader at The Baseball Factory Field at UMBC.  Jancuska is 651-637-6 all-time in his career at UMBC and is in his 31st season with the Retrievers.

With the win, the Retrievers improve to 18-23 overall and 10-8 in the America East Conference, the first time they have been over .500 since beginning the conference season 1-0, while the Great Danes fall to 11-33-1 overall and 6-12 in the conference.  

Junior Scott Peddicord (Columbia, Md./Long Reach) led the Retrievers on the day, going a combined 4-for-8 with four runs scored, five RBI, and two home runs, one in each game.  Junior Dan Blewett (4-4) (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) picked up the first win of the day, striking out four and letting in six runs on eight hits in six innings pitched, while redshirt freshman Austin Drewyer (Ellicott City, Md./River Hill) earned his second save after pitching one inning in relief and allowing just one run on two hits.  Senior Will Delawter (4-3) (Frederick, Md./Catoctin/Chesapeake JC) earned game two’s win, giving up five runs, two earned, on five hits and fanning one batter in five innings of work, while junior Ryan Morse (Frederick, Md./Catoctin/Chesapeake JC) closed out the game for the Retrievers with two scoreless and hitless innings.

Mike Konstanty led the Great Danes in the losses, going a combined 3-for-5 with four runs scored, five RBI, and three home runs, while Cory Warrings (0-6) was tabbed with the first loss, letting in eight runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings pitched and Josh Willimot (4-3) let in six runs, three earned, on seven hits in two innings to take game two’s loss.

Game one got off to a rocky start for the Retrievers, as Blewett gave up five runs his first two innings on the mound, but the Retriever bats came alive in the bottom of the third as they added five runs of their own to knot the score at five.

Freshman Rich Conlon (Vienna, Va./James Madison) started things off with a one-out double to right center and advanced into scoring position off a wild pitch before junior Brad Brainer (Chester, Md./Kent Island/Chesapeake JC) plated him with a single through the right side.

Peddicord singled and a two-out walk by Delawter loaded the bases for junior Shawn Retz’s (Baltimore, Md./Western Tech/Catonsville C.C.) grand slam to left that tied the score at five.

Albany briefly took back the lead in the fifth with the first of Konstanty’s three home runs on the day, a solo shot to center, but a two-run homer to right by Peddicord and a two-RBI double by junior Tom Meaney (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem) put the Retrievers up, 9-6.

The Great Danes threatened in the seventh with a two-out solo homer from Brendan Rowland and proceeded to put two men on base before the Retrievers got out of the inning with the 9-7 victory.

Game two saw the Retrievers take the lead early and never relinquish it on the way to the 10-8 victory as they tallied two runs in the first off a groundout RBI by Delawter and RBI single by Retz.

The Great Danes cut that lead in half in the second with Konstanty’s lead-off homer, his second of the day and first of two in game two, but Peddicord answered with his second homer of the day in the bottom of the inning, a three-run four-bagger to center.  Retz tallied another RBI single as the Retrievers took a 6-2 lead after two.

After another single run inning by Albany in the third, the Retrievers added four more in the bottom of the fourth off a hit by pitch by Meaney with the bases loaded and a two-RBI single by senior Mark Lemon (Wilmington, Del./St. Mark’s).

Konstanty’s third long ball of the game in the fifth cut the Retriever lead to five but Morse shut down the Great Danes, allowing just one runner to reach base in two innings on the way to the 10-5 victory and doubleheader sweep.

The Retrievers and Great Danes continue the four-game series with a 1:00 p.m. contest on Saturday, which will also see the Retrievers honor their seniors who are playing in their final home series.