Lowell, Mass. – The UMBC Baseball team rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take a 5-3 lead, but Albany stormed back in the final innings to defeat the Retrievers, 8-5, in the first game of the America East Championships at LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Fourth-seeded UMBC (28-22) found itself down 3-0 heading to the bottom of the second, but junior center fielder Andrew Casali hit a two-run double to right-center to cut the Albany (22-28) advantage to 3-2. Two batters later, freshman right fielder Raven Beeman tied the game with an RBI single. The Retrievers took a 5-3 lead in the fourth on a two-out RBI double off the bat of senior first baseman Anthony Gatto. The score remained the same until two back-to-back RBI singles by the Great Danes tied the game at five in the seventh, and were followed up by a three-run eighth to account for the final score.

Casali finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and a double, while Gatto went 2-for-5 with two doubles, combining to account for five of UMBC's six hits in the contest. Conrad Wozniak went 6.2 innings, allowing six hits and five runs (four earned), with two walks and five strikeouts in the no-decision. Patrick Phillips (1-1) took the loss, pitching a third of an inning, allowing two hits and an earned run.

The Retrievers will return to the field at 7 p.m. in an elimination game against the loser of the No.3 Stony Brook vs No.6 Maine contest that begins at 4:05.