ANNAPOLIS, Md. – For the second-straight game, Navy (12-1) rallied from behind and scored six unanswered runs to defeat UMBC (2-10) in an 8-6 ballgame on Sunday evening at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. The win for Navy pushed it winning streak to 12 games, which is its longest since 2017 when it rattled off 13-straight victories.
 
Evan Lowery (Sr., Williamsburg, Va.) paced the Midshipmen going 3-for-3 with three doubles and four runs scored. Jacob Williamson (Sr., Sims, N.C.) notched a 2-for-3 day at the plate with a two-run home run. Williamson finished the game with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored. On the mound, Navy's bullpen duo of Sante Grossi (Jr., Riverside, Calif.) and Trey Braithwaite (Jr., Winchester, Va.) kept the Retrievers in check with just three hits and one run over the final 5-2/3 innings.
 
"Evan Lowery and Jacob Williamson were our offensive keys today," head coach Paul Kostacopoulos said after the game. "Evan was on base all day today and Jake had some really good at-bats, even one of the outs he made was a really good ball hit to left field and that was good to see because we certainly need them to heat up a little. 
 
"This first month of college baseball is all about getting ready for the Patriot League," Kostacopoulos said looking ahead to Navy's upcoming road swing. "We have two games this week and we have to play well, we have to improve and then we have to go into conference play and see what happens."
 
The Midshipmen got on the board first with a two-run second inning as the duo of Lowery and Williamson got going early. Lowery got Navy's first hit of the contest with a double to left-center field and then on a 2-2 pitch, Williamson launched a two-run home run over the wall in left field. 
 
However, the Retrievers answered right back with a three-run third inning and they extended their lead with three more runs in the top of the fourth inning to grab a 6-2 lead over the Midshipmen. 
 
After falling behind by four, Navy started to chip away at its deficit and countered the three-run UMBC fourth inning with two runs its own in the bottom of the frame. In the home half of the fourth inning, Alex Smith (Fr., Laguna Hills, Calif.) reached on a walk and then Lowery delivered his second double of the game to place two runners in scoring position with no outs. Williamson drove in another run with a sacrifice fly and with the bases loaded, Ryan Duffey (Jr., Duxbury, Mass.) drove in the Midshipmen's fourth run of the day with a ground out to second base.
 
Trailing 6-4 at the start of the sixth inning, Navy regained the lead with a three-run sixth inning. The Midshipmen notched just one hit in the inning but worked three walks to load the bases then bring in a run. Still with the bases loaded, Zach Biggers (Sr., Walhalla, S.C.) brought home a run with a fielder's choice and then a Michael Coritz (Sr., Clifton, Va.) sacrifice fly put Navy back ahead, 7-6, through six innings. 
 
Grossi shut down the Retrievers in his final three innings of work as he allowed just two base runners during that span to keep the Midshipmen ahead by a run.
 
In the home half of the seventh inning, Navy tacked on an insurance run as Stephen Thompson (Jr., Rock Hill, S.C.) drove in Lowery to extend the Midshipmen's lead to two runs. 
 
With an 8-6 lead, Braithwaite worked around a one-out walk in the eighth inning and Navy turned a double play and then the junior right-hander left two runners on base to end the game a secured the 8-6 victory for the Midshipmen.
 
Colin Jones (So., Collierville, Tenn.) made his first collegiate start and allowed five runs on five hits in 3-1/3 innings in the no-decision. Grossi (1-0) notched his first win of the campaign after striking out five in 3-2/3 innings allowing a run on three hits without walking a batter. Braithwaite (3) earned his 13th career save after working the final two innings without surrendering a hit while walking two and hitting one batter.
 
Colton Bare (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing two runs as he walked the lone two batters he faced without recording an out. 
 
With its 10-game homestand in the rearview mirror, Navy hits the road for its next six games starting on Tuesday at Mount St. Mary's beginning at 3 p.m. in Emmitsburg, Md.