UMBC

Sophomore Ed Bach tied a career-high with seven strikeouts on Friday.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y.--The UMBC baseball team was eliminated from the America East Championships as it fell, 5-1, to Vermont on Friday afternoon at Farmingdale Field in Farmingdale, N.Y. The Retrievers (21-29) took an early, 1-0, lead in the bottom of the first, but the Catamounts (26-24) scored five unanswered runs and held the Retrievers scoreless for eight innings, giving up just a total of five hits.

Junior Tom Meaney (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem) led the Retrievers, going 2-for-4 on the day with a triple, while junior Ed Bach (3-6) (Ellicott City, Md./Atholton) tied his career-high with seven strikeouts in the complete game loss. The junior gave up just two earned runs in the loss and surrendered only three hits. Bach tied the strikeout total that he recorded on April 9, 2006 in a six inning outing against Maine.

Corey Moylan led the Catamounts, going 1-for-4 on the day with one run scored, one RBI, and a triple, while Eric Thompson (7-1) pitched the complete game victory, allowing no earned runs on five hits and fanning four batters.

The Retrievers wasted no time as junior Brad Brainer (Chester, Md./Kent Island/Chesapeake JC) led off the bottom of the first with a single up the middle and junior Wink Nolan (Ellicott City, Md./Calvert Hall/Maryland) reached base on a fielder’s choice to bring up senior Joe Fowler (Wilmington, Del./St. Mark’s).

Nolan advanced two bases, to third, on an error by Catamount pitcher Eric Thompson and Fowler’s groundout RBI plated him to give the Retrievers a 1-0 advantage.

The Catamounts broke up Bach’s no-hitter and took a 2-1 lead over the Retrievers in the top of the fifth as Corey Moylan brought Miguel Magrass in to score with a triple down the right field line. Brad Currier brought in the second run with a sacrifice bunt squeeze along the first base line that plated Moylan.

Vermont added to that lead with three runs in the sixth as Justin Milo scored on overthrow to first base after Kyle Massie’s sacrifice bunt and Massie was brought home on an RBI double to left by Matt Duffy. Duffy crossed home plate on a sacrifice fly to center by Jeff Nolet to propel the Catamounts to the 5-1 win over the Retrievers.

Vermont will take on the loser of tonight’s contest between Binghamton and Stony Brook on Saturday, with the winners of both games meeting in the championship on Saturday night.