BALTIMORE – The pitching and defense were on point at Alumni Field, but the Binghamton Bearcats (18-28, 14-15 America East) used some clutch hitting and defeated the Retrievers (22-29, 11-18 AE), 7-1, in steamy conditions on Friday evening.

Binghamton scored two runs in the third and fourth innings and three in the ninth and all seven Bearcats crossed the plate after two men had been retired by Retriever pitching. Moreover, all RBI hits by Binghamton occurred right after two-out walks by starter Nick Remy and reliever Joe Pucek.

Both UMBC hurlers were otherwise effective, pitching five and four innings respectively and allowing eight total hits.

UMBC scored its lone run in the eighth inning to cut the Bearcat lead to 4-1. Ian Diaz produced his second extra-base hit of the game, a leadoff triple and came around to score on a one-out Justin Taylor single.

The Retrievers hit three balls that were caught at the base of the wall in the humid conditions. Christian Easley's drive to center field was snagged with the bases loaded and two outs in the first inning.                      

The two teams wrap up the series on Saturday. The game time has been moved up to 11:30 a.m. due to the expected hot conditions in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Senior Day ceremony honoring eleven UMBC seniors will get underway just after 11:00 a.m.