VESTAL, N.Y. – No. 1 Bryant edged out a 4-1 victory over No. 2 UMBC to stay in the winners bracket and continue to championship Saturday. In UMBC’s second game of the night, the Retrievers only trailed once in the top of the 1st and then were able to dominate the Highlanders with a 11-6 win earning the Retrievers the second spot in teh #AEBASE Championship game.
Tomorrow’s #AEBASE Championship begins at 1 p.m. as No. 1 Bryant faces No. 2 UMBC. It will be broadcast on ESPN+. Visit #AEBASE Championship Central for a complete updated bracket with times and links to live stats and video.
NJIT 8, UMass Lowell 6
- The River Hawks opened the scoring in the top of the first as Carlos Martinez singled home Fritz Genther for a 1-0 advantage.
- Ray Ortiz tied it up in the bottom of the second on a solo home run to left field, but UML was able to strand two runners and avoid more damage.
- In the fifth, Ryan Proto gave the River Hawks a 3-1 lead, though the Highlanders answered with a pair to tie it before AJ Soldra belted a three-run homer for the 6-3 advantage.
- Fritz Genther closed the gap to 6-4 with an RBI double in the seventh and Trey Brown came through with a game-tying 2 RBI single in the top of the eighth.
- Luke Longo led off the bottom of the frame with a solo shot and Cade Ladehoff drove in a run for an NJIT 8-6 lead.
- Aaron Park tossed the final 1.1 innings and gave up just a single hit with two strikeouts to secure his first win of the season.
- Cole Campbell finished with his second straight three-hit game as the team totaled 13 hits overall.
Bryant 4, UMBC 1
- Neither team was able to get on the board until the third inning. UMBC’s Justin Taylor singled up the middle after wild pitch, scoring Derek Paris in the top of the frame. The Retrievers then loaded the bases, but Bryant was able to induce a fly out to end the threat.
- In the bottom of the frame, the Bulldogs evened it up on a Jackson Phinney double.
- Carmine Petosa came through with a ground rule double to plate Gavin Noriega for a 2-1 advantage in the bottom of the fifth.
- In the sixth, UMBC walked in a Bryant run but was able to get out of the inning without any more damage, however, Jackson Phinney belted a solo home run for a 4-1 advantage in the seventh.
UMBC 11, NJIT 6
- The Highlanders got off to an early start with a solo home run from Cade Ladehoff in the top of the first.
- UMBC opened the gates for scoring in the bottom of the third inning. Kicking things off was a single by Justin Taylor bringing home Nico Ong to score.
- The Retrievers then loaded the bases, and Derek Paris scored off of a walk, giving UMBC the 2-1 lead.
- The Retrievers weren’t done yet, with the bases loaded again, Swenda then doubled to right field allowing two more runners to score and extending the UMBC lead 4-1. And to close out the 3rd, Matt Ryan scored an RBI from Danny Wyatt, 5-1 Retrievers.
- NJIT saw a response to UMBC’s runs, cutting the lead in the top of the 4th scoring two runs and making it 5-3. Cole Campbell flied out to the infield allowing AJ Soldra to score. Bottom of the 4th UMBC scored three more runs with an RBI from Anthony Swenda, followed by another RBI from Danny Wyatt to bring home Swenda and Justin Taylor.
- Cade Ladehoff gave the Highlanders some life in the 5th with a two-run homer cutting the lead and making it 8-5.
- UMBC loads the bases in the bottom of the 6th, Danny Wyatt gets walked and Derek Paris scores. Luke Trythall singled down the middle and Dawson Baracani to make it 10-5 Retrievers.
- Danny Wyatt earned his 5th RBI of the game in the bottom of the 8th extending the lead to 11-5.
- Kevin Putsky tried to help the Highlanders fight back in the top of the 9th with a solo homer to cut the lead to 11-6. But ultimately Sam Daniels is able to hold off the Highlanders.
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