Lexington, S.C.— UMBC baseball fell in their season opener, 8-5 to Liberty on Friday. Senior Hunter Dolshun (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) plated three, while scoring once himself as the Retrievers fall to 0-1.

Liberty got things going early, getting a two-run double from Jake Barbee that scored D.J. Artis and Andrew Kowalo to give the Flames an early lead in the third.

They would add to that lead the very next inning, getting a solo home run from Sammy Taormina to increase their lead to 3-0.

The Retrievers would strike back in their half of the fourth. After Mitchell Carroll (Oakton, Va./Oakton) led-off with a walk, and advanced on an AJ Wright (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) groundout, Hunter Dolshun ripped a single to center to score Carroll, getting the Dawgs on the board.

Later that inning, classmate Andrew Casali (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) doubled to right center to plate Dolshun, cutting the deficit to just one. However the Retrievers would not be done, as freshman Collin Stack (Jamestown, N.Y./Monroe CC) singled up the middle to score Casali to tie the game at 3-3.

Liberty would retake the lead in the fifth with D.J. Artis scoring on a wild pitch. UMBC would grab their first lead of the contest with yet another clutch hit from Dolshun.

The New York native doubled down the left field line to score Wright and Connor Hax (Bowie, Md./Bishop McNamara), giving UMBC a 5-4 lead.

However the Flames would strike last, getting three runs in the seventh, and one in the eighth to take an 8-5 lead, holding the Retrievers at bay the rest of the way in the win.

Dolshun went 2-4 on the night, driving in three runs and scoring one himself. Casali and Stack each had one hit and one RBI in the loss.

The Retrievers will continue the Lexington County vs. Cancer Tournament against St. John's tomorrow, Feb. 25. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.