Marion, N.C.— UMBC baseball dropped a wild 17-14 decision to UNC Asheville in rainy conditions on Saturday. The Bulldogs were up by as much as 17-7 before the Retrievers tried to mount a comeback, falling just short.

UMBC falls to 1-1 on the year while the Bulldogs improve to 1-4.

UNC Asheville jumped out in front early putting up three runs in the first two innings off two home runs.

The Retrievers got on the board in the third, Colin Casey led off the inning with a walk and was followed by a walk for AJ Wright. Casey would score just two batters later as Joey Goodwin laced a single up the middle. Wright scored the very next at bat when Christian Torres grounded out allowing Wright to score to make it 3-2.

The Bulldogs would add another five runs over the next two innings to increase their lead to 8-2 before the Retrievers responded in the sixth with an RBI single from Ethan Wentzlaff that scored Raven Beeman.

The Retrievers would add four runs in their half of the seventh, but once again the Bulldogs answered with six runs to make it 17-7 entering the eighth.

UMBC put up seven runs on just two hits, capitalizing on walks and wild pitches, but it was not enough as the Bulldogs held on for a 17-14 win.

Four different Retrievers had multiple hits, led by Torres who went 2-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Wentzlaff drove in three runs in the loss.

The series finale will be moved up to 9:30 a.m tomorrow due to scheduling with other games on the field.