BALTIMORE, Md. – George Washington scored two runs in the top of the eighth and added one more in the top of the ninth to rally and beat the UMBC baseball team, 6-4, Wednesday night at the Baseball Factory Field at UMBC.

UMBC had put together a rally of their own in the bottom of the seventh, scoring three times and taking the lead, 4-3, on a single through the right side by junior Jason Allinder (Snow Hill, Md./Snow Hill/Chesapeake CC).

Sophomore Mac Gill (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) took the loss for UMBC, giving up three runs, two of them earned, on four hits in two innings of work.  The righty (1-2) also struck out two batters while giving up two walks.

Eric Lara (1-0) earned the win for the Colonials even though he recorded just one out in the game.  Kenny O'Brien pitched two innings of scoreless ball to pick up his third save of the year.

UMBC out hit George Washington, 11-8, but left 10 runners on base compared to just six for the Colonials.

Both starters, freshman Jon Cobo (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) for UMBC and J.T. Wauford for GW, eased through the first two innings giving up only one hit between the two of them.

The visitors made the initial mark in the third however, as both Ryan Hickey and Grant Brown singled to lead off the inning.  Hickey, who advanced to third on Brown's single, then scored on an RBI ground out.  The Colonials would add two more runs in the inning to build a 3-0 lead.

Wauford continued to shut down the Retrievers and had a no-hitter into the fourth before Allinder singled through the left side.

UMBC finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth, cutting the lead to two, 3-1, when junior Tom Gilchrist (Olney, Md./Sherwood/Chesapeake CC) came home on a single by freshman Vince Corbi (Medford, N.J./Shawnee).

After threatening in the bottom of the sixth but leaving two on base, the Retrievers rallied and took the lead in the bottom of the seventh.  Gilchrist led off the inning with a single up the middle and advanced to second on a sacrifice by Corbi.  Two batters later, senior Curtis Schickner (East Windsor, N.J./Lawrenceville Prep) double down the right field line to bring the hosts within one, 3-2.  Senior Max Himmelstein (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) stepped up next and promptly tripled to the same spot, bringing around Schickner to tie the game.

George Washington then elected to intentionally walk senior Brian Klukowicz (Clifton, N.J./St. Peter's Prep,) but the gamble did not pay off as Allinder singled to give UMBC the lead, 4-3.

The Colonials took the lead right back in the top of the eighth however, plating two runs, and then added another in the ninth to provide the two-run margin, 6-4.

UMBC now has the day off before traveling to Farmville, Va. to take on Longwood in a three-game series this weekend.  The Retrievers and Lancers will play two on Saturday and finish the series with a solo game on Sunday.

DAWG BITES

-           Klukowicz extended his team-best hit streak to 10 games with a single in the sixth

-          The Retrievers have traded wins and losses in their past five games.

-          George Washington has now won six of the past eight meetings with UMBC and now leads the all-time series 27-14.

-          With the loss, the Retrievers are now 5-6 against teams from Maryland and Washington, D.C. this season.