Union, N.J.-- UMBC baseball dropped game one of a three-game set with the Highlanders on Friday night, 8-2. The Highlanders put up three runs in the second and held off the Retrievers in the win. Matt Ryan (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) hit a solo home run, the first of his career in the contest.

UMBC falls to 14-19, 5-8 AE on the year while the Highlanders improve to 16-13, 10-4 AE.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• NJIT struck first, putting up three runs in the second inning off of a pair of Retriever errors.
• The Highlanders would add two more in the fourth to extend their lead to 5-0.
• UMBC would finally break through in the sixth. Christian Easley (Collinsville, Va.) would work to second after a single and ground out. Christian Taylor (Reston, Va.) would drive him in to cut the deficit to 5-1.
• However, the Highlanders would answer in their half with three runs to take an 8-1 lead into the seventh. 
• Ryan would lead a comeback effort in the ninth, smashing his first collegiate home run to make it 8-2, but a strikeout would end the game by that score. 

NOTABLE:

• Easley led the Retrievers at the plate going 3-4 with a run scored. 
• Myles Nicholson (Hagerstown, Md./St. James) and Drew Roberts (Matthews, N.C.) each had two hits in the game. 

Game two of the series will start at 8 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, April 16 from Kean University in Union, N.J.