UMBC

Head Coach Bob Mumma

BALTIMORE, Md. – The UMBC baseball team concludes its nearly three-week road swing on Tuesday with a trip to Bethesda, Md. to face Georgetown.  First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Shirley Povich Field. 

Over the past three weeks, UMBC has played 11 games on the road, coming home only for last Wednesday’s game against George Washington which was originally scheduled to be played in Washington, D.C.  The Retrievers have gone 5-6 over that time, sweeping Coppin State and stealing wins at Tulane and Mount St. Mary’s.

This past weekend, UMBC was swept by Longwood in Farmville, Va. to fall to 7-16 on the year.

Sophomore Mac Gill (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) (1-2, 2.53) will get the ball for the Retrievers on Tuesday, looking to snap the team’s current four-game slide.  The right-hander last appeared for UMBC last week in relief against George Washington giving up two earned runs in two innings to take the loss.  In his last start on Mar. 24, Gill threw 7.2 innings at Tulane yielding only two runs on seven hits and receiving a no decision when the Retrievers rallied for the win.

UMBC and Georgetown have already met twice this year, with both games coming in Winston Salem, N.C. at the season-opening Wake Forest Invitational.  In the first game, the Retrievers took an early 3-1 lead on homeruns by junior Tom Gilchrist (Olney, Md./Sherwood/Chesapeake CC) and senior Max Himmelstein (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown).  After Georgetown recaptured the lead with three runs in the top of the fifth, freshman Ian Glassman (Basking Ridge, N.J./Rutgers Prep) drilled his first career homerun, a two-run shot, to give UMBC the lead again, 5-4.  The Hoyas rallied quickly however, scoring nine runs over the next three innings to take the series opener, 13-6.

The next day, Georgetown jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the fourth inning, and held off a UMBC rally to pick up the win, 11-4.  Himmelstein went 2-for-3 in the second game, connecting for a triple and scoring two runs for the Retrievers. 

A year ago, the Retrievers and Hoyas split the two-game season series with each club winning on its home field.  Georgetown took the opener, 12-2, in early April before UMBC squeezed out a 4-3 win at the Baseball Factory Field in May.  Catcher Rob McCabe (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph’s Prep) went 3-for-4 with a double and scored two runs to pace the Retrievers in the win.

Senior Brian Klukowicz (Clifton, N.J./St. Peter’s Prep) leads UMBC this year with a .442 average (23-for-52) and 16 RBIs.  The Retrievers have received some power from Himmelstein who has hit four homeruns this season.  Classmate Curtis Schickner (East Windsor, N.J./Lawrenceville Prep) has also been consistent at the plate, compiling a .302 average (19-for-63) with 10 RBIs so far.

After Tuesday’s game, UMBC returns home to host Maine to kick-off the 2012 America East schedule.  The Retrievers and Black Bears will play doubleheaders on both Friday and Saturday with Friday’s games set to begin at 12 p.m.

DAWG BITES

-           Tuesday’s game concludes a stretch in which the Retrievers have played 11 of 12 games on the road.  Starting with Friday’s doubleheader against Maine, UMBC will play 14 of its next 18 games within the friendly confines of the Baseball Factory Field at UMBC.

-          The Retrievers won seven games before the start of April this year, the first time they have achieved this since 2007 when they also won seven games.

-          Himmelstein’s four homeruns places him second in the America East behind only William Carmona of Stony Brook who has hit five. 

-          UMBC has hit 10 homeruns and stole 24 bases this season, breaking the 2011 team’s marks in both categories.  (Homeruns 7; Steals 21)