MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The UMBC baseball team held a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning, but could not stop No. 10-ranked N.C. State's rally, falling 5-3, Friday afternoon at TicketReturn.com Field in the team's season-opener at the Caravelle Resort's Baseball at the Beach. 

The meeting was the first ever between the two programs.

"We played some good baseball today," said second-year head coach Bob Mumma.  "I'm proud of the way we came out and played, but it's not much of a surprise since the guys have been working hard in the gym."

Junior Mac Gill (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) pitched 5.1 innings but drew the no-decision when he left runners on in the sixth and the Wolfpack leveled the game.  Gill gave up just two earned runs while scattering four hits.

"This gave us a chance to see how far Mac [Gill] has come," Mumma said.  "He stayed low in the zone, had good movement, and limited a really good ball club."

Classmate Jon Cohn (Scottsdale, Ariz./Notre Dame Prep) took the loss for the Retrievers allowing the inherited runner to score the tying run, in addition to two runs of his own, over 2.2 innings of work.

D.J. Thomas picked up the win for N.C. State after throwing two shutout innings, giving up only one hit.  Chris Overman finished the eighth inning and then completed the ninth to earn his first save of the year.

UMBC (0-1) got its season off to a nice start behind two runs in the top of the first inning.  After junior Rob McCabe (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) reached on a throwing error, he moved to third as sophomore Ian Glassman (Basking Ridge, N.J./Rutgers Prep) singled through the left-side. Senior Jason Allinder (Snow Hill, Md./Snow Hill/Chesapeake CC) and sophomore Anthony Gatto(Hauppauge, N.Y./Smithtown West) then drew back-to-back walks to push McCabe across for the early lead.  Following a pop-up, senior Tom Gilchrist (Olney, Md./Sherwood/Chesapeake CC) singled to center to extend the Retrievers' lead to 2-0 and knocking Wolfpack starter Josh Easley out of the game in the process.

N.C. State cut the lead in half, 2-1, during the bottom half of the inning on a single to right by Tarran Senay, but the inning ended there as McCabe cut down Brett Austin at home and then freshman catcher Manny Colon caught Senay trying to take second.

The Black and Gold answered right back in the second with freshman Kevin Lachance (Clifton, Va./Centreville) leading off with a looping double down the right field line.  He advanced to third on a fly ball off the bat of Vince Corbi (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) and then scored on a passed ball making it a 3-1 game.

Gill made the lead stand over the next three innings before the Pack cut into the lead with a run in the fifth. 

In the sixth, Gill struck out Brett Williams to start the inning, but then gave up a single to Austin and walked Senay before being pulled in favor of Cohn.  N.C. State was then able to knot the game at 3-3 after two wild pitches.

The Retrievers could not answer in the top of the seventh and the Wolfpack made them pay by crossing the plate twice in the bottom half of the inning.  Trea Turner led off the inning by tripling to right-center and then came home on the next at-bat as Williams singled off the left field wall. 

UMBC got a man on base in both the eighth and ninth innings, but could not push the runner across.

The Retrievers return to action tomorrow morning to take on West Virginia on the second day of the tournament hosted by Coastal Carolina.  First pitch is set for 10:30 a.m.

DAWG BITES

-          UMBC dropped it 12th straight season-opener.  The Retrievers last won on opening day in 2001, defeating Georgetown 19-9 in Washington, D.C.

-          The Retrievers are now 13-36-1 all-time against opponents from the ACC and 22- 46 versus schools from the state of North Carolina.

-          Lachance's double came in his first collegiate at-bat.