ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Trailing by a run with one out in the ninth inning, Zach Stevens (Sr., Lexington, Mass.) recorded an RBI triple to force extra innings, prior to Joe Simourian (Sr., Andover, Mass.) working a bases-loaded walk in the home half of the 12th to secure the Navy baseball team's (2-0) second walk-off win in as many days, 11-10, over UMBC (0-2) Saturday at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium.
 
The 12-inning contest marked the longest extra-inning game for the Midshipmen since playing 16 innings against rival Air Force on Feb. 25, 2018 during the annual Freedom Classic in Kinston, N.C.
 
The pairing of Eduardo Diaz (So., Miami, Fla.) and Logan Keller (So., Longwood, Fla.) paced the Navy offense with four hits apiece. Diaz went 4-for-7 at the plate with a triple, two RBI and two runs scored while Keller reached base six times in a 4-for-5 showing with a run scored and two walks.
 
Stevens finished the afternoon going 2-for-5 with the aforementioned RBI triple while Christian Policelli (Sr., Walkersville, Md.) added two hits and an RBI to round out the multi-hit efforts for the Midshipmen.
 
"Again, today was very similar to yesterday," said head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "Both of the pitching staffs had trouble with command and throwing strikes in general. I think it was one of those games where you have to keep grinding. Logan Keller played outstanding all weekend at third base and also had a big day at the plate with four hits along with Eddie (Diaz) who had four hits."
 
Matthew Shirah (So., Blue Ridge, Ga.) turned in a five-inning effort on the mound for Navy in his first start of the 2022 season. Shirah posted three scoreless innings prior to allowing five runs in the fourth. The sophomore right-hander was able to bounce back in the fifth, pitching a clean frame to round out his afternoon.
 
Trent Topping (Sr., Temecula, Calif.) held the UMBC offense at bay over 2.2 frames, recording the last two outs of the top of the ninth before allowing just one hit over the next two innings of work. Topping eventually gave way to newcomer Owen Archer (Fr., Frisco, Texas) for the 12th inning who pitched a clean frame that setup the Mids' comeback effort in the bottom of the inning to earn his first collegiate win.
 
"I thought Matt Shirah had a good start, he got us through five pretty much," Kostacopoulos continued. "I liked that after he gave up a five spot in the fourth inning, he came back and put up a zero in the fifth. Trent Topping bounced back today which was really good to see and Owen Archer couldn't have had a better top of the 12th inning as far as being efficient which was a struggle today. It's always good to grind out wins but we have to find a way to do this much more efficiently."
 
Navy opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, tallying two runs on three hits including an RBI single from Policelli and a sacrifice fly by Colin Smith (Jr., Wilmington, Del.) to take an early 2-0 lead.
 
That margin would hold until the next inning when the Midshipmen extended their advantage to four runs when Hudson Lehnertz (So., Santa Ana, Calif.) scored on a passed ball prior to Ivan Aguirre (Fr., Temple City, Calif.) scoring on a wild pitch just one batter later.
 
In the visitors' half of the fourth, the UMBC bats came to life against Shirah by tallying five runs on five hits in the frame to take their first lead of the day at 5-4.
 
The advantage for the Retrievers quickly evaporated as the Midshipmen rallied with five runs of their own in the fifth, highlighted by a Diaz two-RBI triple and an RBI single by Stevens to push the Navy advantage back to four runs at 9-5.
 
UMBC chipped away at its four-run deficit over the next two innings, scoring two runs on three hits in the top of the sixth prior to adding an additional run on two hits in the eighth, reducing the Navy lead to 9-8 heading into the ninth inning.
 
In the ninth, with Navy clinging to a one-run advantage, the Retrievers completed their comeback effort to take a 10-9 lead when Myles Nicholson laced a two-RBI single into the left-centerfield gap.
 
Following a quick out to open the bottom of the frame, Navy quickly erased the Retriever lead as Keller singled up the middle prior to scoring on Stevens' triple off the centerfield wall that tied the game at 10-10 and forced extra innings for the second-consecutive day.
 
Over the first two frames of extra-inning play, the Midshipmen and Retrievers combined for one hit apiece along with leaving a combined four runners on base to maintain the 10-10 score heading into the 12th inning.
 
Following Archer (1-0) retiring the side in order during the visitor's half of the frame, Alex Smith (Jr., Laguna Hills, Calif.) led off the frame with a five-pitch walk before giving way to Nick Burch (Jr., Hollywood, Md.) as a pinch runner. Lehnertz was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second before Aguirre worked a five-pitch free pass of his own to load the bases for Simourian.
 
After working the count full, Simourian took ball four and forced home Burch to secure the 11-10 victory for Navy and a sweep of its season-opening series over the Retrievers.  
 
Nicholson paced the UMBC offense, going 2-for-5 with a run scored, two walks, two stolen bases and three RBI, while Justin Taylor added a 3-for-7 showing at plate, scoring a run along with driving in two. Colton Bare (0-1) took his first loss of the 2022 season for the Retrievers who used nine pitchers on the afternoon.
 
UP NEXT
Navy is set to return to action Feb. 23 as it welcomes Coppin State to Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium, prior to hitting the road Feb. 25-27 for the annual Freedom Classic in Kinston, N.C. against Air Force.