Maine baseball overcame an early 2-0 deficit and would rally to defeat UMBC 8-5 at Mahaney Diamond in Orono on Saturday afternoon in Game 2 of a weekend America East series.
Ehi Okojie hit a two-run homerun in the second inning for the Retrievers, but the Black Bears tied it in the bottom half on a Jack Quigley RBI single and a sacrifice RBI flyout by Nic Pepe. Brody Rasmussen provided another sacrifice RBI fly in the third to put Maine on top for good. Rasmussen later added a key two-run single in the sixth inning to give his team some breathing room at 7-3.
Derek Paris and Brooks Henderson both contributed two hits a piece for UMBC. Henderson also drove in a run. Zach Robinson (5-2) took the pitching loss allowing three earned run on seven hits in 4.0 innings. The Retrievers drop to 20-17 and 8-6 in America East. Rasmussen led Maine and was the offensive leader in the game by recording four hits, three RBI, and also scored two runs. Gianni Gambardella (5-4) earned the win on the hill giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits with one walks and two strikeouts in 6.0 innings. Sebastian Holt notched his fifth save. The Black Bears are now 13-25 and pull back into a tie for second in the conference with UMBC at 8-6. The teams play the rubber match of the three game series on Sunday afternoon at noon.
Photo from UMaine Athletics
