March 5, 2008
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy baseball team dropped its second-straight contest on Wednesday afternoon, as UMBC handed the Midshipmen an 18-6 setback at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. The Mids fell to 3-4 on the year, while the Retrievers won their second-straight to improve to 3-2.
"The bottom line is that when you give up 19 hits and six walks, you're going to give up some runs," stated Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "The big item that has been a concern is our middle relief. We have to work on building a staff - and that's not just starting pitching and short guys, but a combination of all three. It was evident today that we were missing that piece. However, that is something we will continue to work on and hopefully improves throughout the course of the season."
Navy held a 3-1 lead after the opening inning of play. Thomas Hamilton (Sr./Houston, Texas) delivered a RBI-single, Jeff Bland (Fr./Basking Ridge, N.J.) lifted a sacrifice fly and Steven Soares (So./Coral Springs, Fla.) doubled down the line and a fielding error on the play allowed Hamilton to score.
UMBC answered with a run in the second a six-run fourth inning to take the lead for good. The Midshipmen mounted a rally in the fifth and again in the seventh to pull within two at 8-6. Navy plated a pair of runs on a fielding error in the fifth inning and Hamilton drove home a run on a groundout in the seventh.
The Retrievers would not let the Mids get any closer, as they sent 18 batters to the plate over the final-two innings in scoring six runs in the eighth and four in the ninth.
"We were able to get back to 8-6 in the seventh and were one out away from maintaining the two-run hole going into our half of the eighth," said Kostacopoulos. "But their No. 2 hitter (Brad Brainer) hit a bases-clearing triple that proved to be one of the biggest plays of the game."
Kendall Bolt (So./Stockton, Calif.) was the lone Navy batter to record a multi-hit effort on Wednesday, as he went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Michael Speciale (So./Pearland, Texas) scored a pair of runs and Hamilton drove in three runners.
Dan Blewett, UMBC's opening-day starter against Army last Friday, allowed five runs on five hits over five innings with three walks and four strikeouts to pick up the win. Navy's Alec Thomas (So./Kernersville, N.C.) was tagged for the loss, as he yielded five hits and five earned runs over 3.1 innings with four walks and three strikeouts.
UMBC out-hit Navy, 19-7, and drew six walks compared to the host's one. However, the Retrievers committed five errors, three of which came in the opening frame, while the Mids made two fielding miscues.
The Midshipmen will return to action this Friday when they host Iona in the opening game of the Navy Baseball Round-Robin Tournament. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m., and live stats will be available via GameTracker on www.NavySports.com(.)
