Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
UMBC
UMBC Hangs On To Beat Army, 10-8
March 04, 2012 | Baseball
March 4, 2012
BALTIMORE, Md. - Rob Schickner went 3-for-4 with two RBI, and Anthony Gatto was 2-for-4 with three runs scored as UMBC hung on to defeat Army, 10-8, in a non-league baseball contest Sunday afternoon at Baseball Factory Field.
Army trailed 10-3 entering the ninth inning, before the Black Knights staged a furious rally in their final time at bat. The Black Knights scored five runs during the frame, and had the tying runs in scoring position when the game ended.
Ian Glassman was 3-for-6 with a run scored, and Vince Corbi went 1-for-3 with three RBI to help UMBC (1-6) earn its first win of the young season.
J.T. Watkins collected two hits and three RBI, and Harold Earls went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one run batted in to lead Army (5-4). Mark McCants, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning, finished 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored.
UMBC held a tenuous 5-3 lead before the Retrievers seemingly blew the game open in the bottom of the eighth inning. The home squad sent 11 men to the plate and scored five runs on six hits during the frame to open up a 10-3 cushion.
Max Himmelstein led off that five-run eighth inning by crushing a home run over the wall in left field to make it 6-3. Gatto followed with a double to left field, and he scored on Schickner's two-out single. Then, after Jake Barnes walked, Corbi laced a two-run double into the gap in left-center field. Rob McCabe and Glassman followed with consecutive RBI singles to cap the scoring.
Just when it seemed all hope was lost for Army, the Black Knights strung together a five-run rally of their own in the top of the ninth inning. The visitors sent 10 men to the plate and scored five runs on three hits and one UMBC error.
Earls drew a walk leading off the frame, and McCants recorded his second base hit of the afternoon to put runners on first and second. Cody Murtle followed with an RBI single to right field, scoring Earls from second base and chasing McCants to third. Zach Price then drove home McCants when he reached on an error by the second baseman. Daniel Cortes drove in the third run of the frame with a sacrifice fly to center field, and Kevin McKague drew a walk to load the bases. Watkins then smoked a two-run double down the left field line to make it 10-8 and put the tying runs into scoring position with just one out.
Matt Siggins, UMBC's third pitcher of the inning, got Alex Jensen to pop up to the shortstop for the second out of the inning. Josh Dick was then summoned from the Retrievers' bullpen and he induced a groundout from Earls to end the game and earn the save.
UMBC took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third on Tom Gilchrist's RBI double. Gatto was hit by a pitch, and he scored all the way from first base on Gilchrist's blast, which caromed about halfway up the 20-foot wall in center field.
Army rallied to take a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth as the Black Knights pushed across a pair of unearned runs on two hits and two UMBC fielding errors. Cortes began the uprising when he reached on an error leading off the frame. He moved to second base on a wild pitch and scored on Watkins' RBI single down the right field line. Watkins was thrown out on the play after taking a wide turn around first for the second out of the inning. Jensen then reached second on a two-base error by the UMBC second baseman, and he scored when Earls drilled a base hit right up the middle.
UMBC regained the lead, 4-2, in the bottom of the fifth as the Retrievers scored three runs on two hits. UMBC also took advantage of four walks issued by Army pitching.
Glassman singled leading off the inning, moved to second base on Himmelstein's groundout and took third on Gatto's infield single. Gilchrist, Jason Allinder and Schickner then drew consecutive bases walks to load the bases and force in a pair of runs. Barnes drove home the third run of the frame when he reached on a fielder's choice grounder.
Army pulled to within 4-3 in the top of the seventh inning as the Black Knights scored one run on two hits. Earls smacked a leadoff double down the right field line to ignite the rally. McCants followed with a pinch-hit RBI single off the second baseman's glove.
UMBC got that run back in the bottom of the seventh as the Retrievers loaded the bases and scored on Corbi's squeeze bunt.
The score remained 5-3 until the eighth inning when UMBC put together its five-run rally.
Army will now travel to Florida for its annual spring break trip (March 10-17). The Black Knights open their spring break slate with a doubleheader versus Sacred Heart on Saturday, March 10.
Game Notes: Army falls to 10-4 all-time versus UMBC ... Mark McCants collected his first career hits, run scored and RBI in today's game ... Harold Earls hit his first career double leading off the seventh inning ... J.T. Watkins' eighth-inning double was his second of the season and the 15th of his career.
