LIVE STATS | AMERICA EAST TV | UMBC BASEBALL WEEKLY REPORT
BALTIMORE-- UMBC baseball concludes their season-opening homestand with a four-game set against UMass Lowell this weekend to open conference play. The Retrievers are 5-0 after a pair of wins against George Mason on Friday and Sunday. UMBC continued their strong offensive output this season scoring 14 and 13 runs in the two games, their two lowest outputs of the year.
UMass Lowell Series Info:
What: UMBC Retrievers (5-0, 0-0 AE) vs. UMass Lowell River Hawks (1-8, 0-0 AE)
Where: Alumni Field - Baltimore, Md.
When: Saturday-Sunday, March 20-21 - Both days start at 12 p.m. with a seven-inning and nine-inning game.
How to Watch: Live stream on AmericaEast.TV, live stats at UMBCRetrievers.com
Social Media: @umbcbaseball, #RetrieverNation, #AEBASE
Fan Attendance Policy:
At this time, UMBC Athletics is allowing limited spectator attendance at our outdoor sports, including Men's and Women's Lacrosse, Men's and Women's Soccer, Baseball, and Softball. We will not be permitting fans to attend indoor events, including Volleyball.
Attendance is limited to two guests for each student-athlete and coach from both competing teams. Additionally, limited numbers of UMBC students, faculty, and staff that are approved to be on campus are permitted to attend regular-season outdoor events. Total attendance at any event is capped at 250 spectators.
Members of the general public who are not guests of student-athletes or coaches, and who are not members of the UMBC community as outlined above are still not permitted to attend.
All spectators will need to wear a mask at all times and remain socially distanced from others in the venue. Tailgating is prohibited. Spectators will also need to remain in approved spectator areas in order to keep themselves and our student-athletes safe. Please see below for specific information about approved spectator areas at our facilities.
The bleachers at Alumni Field are closed. Fans may view the game from the hill on the first base side, adjacent to the field. Spectators may access the fan area from the entrance to the stadium complex adjacent to the UMBC Event Center. All other entrances will be closed.
Scouting the Retrievers:
-UMBC comes into the weekend at 5-0 after a pair of wins against George Mason on Friday and Sunday. The Retrievers are a perfect 4-0 at home with just one road contest this year. UMBC has scored at least 13 runs in every contest and is one of the top offensive teams in the country.
-Most of the everyday lineup is batting over .300 with Christian Torres (Miami, Fla.) and Adam Schwartz (Akron, Pa.) leading the way with 10 RBI. Schwartz had two home runs last weekend, including a grand slam to start the Retriever comeback on Sunday. Five different Retrievers have at least six hits so far this season.
-The Retriever pitching staff has been solid in the early part of the year, with Reid Celata (Virginia Beach, Va.) has a 2-0 record in two starts, averaging 5.0 innings per start with seven strikeouts. Joe Nestel (Drexel Hills, Pa.) leads the staff with 10 strikeouts.
Scouting the River Hawks:
-UMass Lowell comes into the weekend at 1-8 on the year having lost their last two contests at Northeastern last weekend. The River Hawks have yet to play a home contest and will not until April.
-Robert Gallagher leads the team at the plate with a .290 batting average with a team-best 31 at-bats. He has nine hits and two RBI with three stolen bases. Cam Climo has driven in a team-best five runs with two home runs.
-Miles Cota has made three appearances out of the bullpen and has a team-best 1.23 ERA. Collin Duffley leads the rotation with 14 strikeouts in 16.0 innings pitched, giving up 10 runs with 13 hits.
All-Time Series:
-The Retrievers and River Hawks have met 24 times prior to this weekend with UMass Lowell leading the series 14-10. The last time they met in 2019, the River Hawks won five of the six meetings with the lone Retriever win coming in Baltimore in late March. Dating back to 2018, UMass Lowell has won eight of nine.
#AEBASE Honors:
-Redshirt sophomore Adam Schwartz (Akron, Pa.) was named America East Player of the Week this past week, making him the second Retriever to earn the award this season.
-Christian Torres (Miami, Fla.) and Joe Nestel (Drexel Hills, Pa.) earned America East Player and Pitcher of the Week honors last week. Torres had a huge weekend from the plate with Nestel picking up a win in a series sweep of Delaware State to start the season 3-0.
-Torres slashed .556/.636/1.000 over a three-game set with the Hornets this past weekend. He finished with five hits in nine at-bats with a double, home run, and seven RBI. He also stole two bases with six runs scored starting all three games.
-Nestel had a big day on Sunday earning the win in the series finale. He went 5.0 innings giving up just one hit, one walk, and striking out seven batters.
Floyd Honored:
-Catcher Dmitri Floyd (Dover, Del.) was recently named to the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year watch list earlier this week. The award is given to the top college catcher at the Division I level each year.
-Sixty-nine catchers were nominated for the award by their schools. Because the award is given annually to the top division one collegiate catcher, the list will be updated to include other candidates until May 5, 2021.
-The watch list will be narrowed down to the semifinalists, who will be announced on May 20, 2021. Ballots will be sent to the national voting committee at the end of May for a vote to determine the three finalists. The finalists will be announced on June 7, 2021. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced at a date that is yet to be determined.
On Deck:
-UMBC will hit the road to close out March with a four-game series at Maine on Saturday and Sunday, March 27-28.
