BALTIMORE – Junior pitcher Luke Johnson tossed eight scoreless innings, but visiting Maine (5-10, 1-0) nipped the UMBC (6-7, 0-1) baseball squad, 2-1, at Alumni Field in the opener of the three-game America East series.

Johnson was tremendous, fanning a career high 12 batters, while allowing three base hits and no walks in his outing. He struck out at least one Black Bear in all eight innings.

But Maine pitcher Colin Fitzgerald also only allowed three base runners, permitting just one hit and walking two in seven innings.

Maine's Quinn McDaniel hit a one-out, two-run home run that skimmed the top of the left field fence in the top of the ninth to produce the first two runs of the game. The next two Black Bears walked, but Retriever center fielder Justin Taylor saved any further damage when he made a diving catch in the  right-center field alley and doubled the lead Maine runner off of second base.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, UMBC finally broke through as Leewood Molessa drove his team-leading third run home of the season over the center field fence. In his previous at-bat in the seventh inning, the powerful first-year player came within a few feet of a home run to the same part of the park.

Sophomore 3B Matt Ryan skied out to right field to end the game.

Johnson retired the first nine Black Bears and the final five he faced in the game. He has now fanned 30 batters and walked only five in 25.0 innings of work this season.  

The teams continue the three-game set on Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. single game.