The UMBC Retrievers scored seven times in the seventh inning on Friday afternoon to take the lead for good, culminating in a 16-12 America East baseball win over Maine at Mahaney Diamond in Orono. The loss snaps the Black Bears six game win streak.
After the Retrievers took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, Myles Sargent began his big day at the plate with a three-run double in the second to put the Black Bears up 3-2. UMBC would regain a pair of two run leads at 5-3 and 6-4 on a three-run homerun by Danny Wyatt and a solo shot by Danny Orr. Payton Whitehead evened it for Maine with a two-run homer in the fifth, before Nick Pratt made it 7-6 in favor of the guests with a solo homer in the top of the sixth inning. Dean O’Neill gave his team their last lead 8-7 with a two-run single in the last of the sixth. The Retrievers took over from there by putting up a seven spot on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh highlighted by a two-run error, along with a two-run double and two-run triple by Sergio Droz and Anthony Mascuilli respectively. Sargent hit a grandslam in the ninth for the Black Bears, but Zach Martin flew out and Brody Rasmussen popped out foul to the catcher to end the game.
Sargent went 4-5 with seven RBI and scored two runs in the loss for Maine. O’Neill, Rasmussen, and Whitehead had two hits each. Rasmussen also hit a solo homerun, while O’Neill and Whitehead drove in two runs a piece. Jason Libby (Bangor Christian) was tagged with his fourth loss (0-4) in relief allowing six runs (just one earned) in 2/3 of an inning. Colin Fitzgerald started on the hill and was touched up for seven runs on 10 hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts in 6.0 innings. Wyatt had three hits and six RBI for UMBC, while Mascuilli drove in three, and Droz had two RBI. Freshman Brady Cox (1-3) pitched 1.1 innings of scoreless relief to get the victory on the hill. The Retrievers improve to 15-16 and 7-6 in America East. The Black Bears fall to 14-21 and 8-5 in conference play. Game two of the series is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch on Saturday afternoon.
