BALTIMORE - - - UMBC junior designated hitter Luke Trythall belted a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning to help lead the Retrievers to a 10-7 victory against the UAlbany Great Danes, in an America East Conference contest on Friday evening at Alumni Field.
 
UMBC (25-23, 14-8 AE) smoked four homers for the third time this season and battled back from a 6-1 deficit to overcome the Great Danes, who knocked UMBC ace Luke Johnson (5.0 innining, 7 hits, 6 earned runs, 4 walks, 4 strike outs) out of the game after five innings.
 
Senior catcher Tony Krueger ripped a career-high three doubles and scored a pair of runs, while freshman first baseman Leewood Molessa (2-for-4), sophomore third baseman Matt Ryan and junior second baseman Anthony Swenda (2-for-4) all added dingers.
 
Senior reliever Connor Kelly (four strikeouts) improved to 2-1 on the season as he came on in the seventh inning and got the Retrievers out of a jam with an inning-ending strikeout and then finished out the game.
 
UAlbany (8-30-1, 2-17 AE) broke a 1-1 tie with five runs in the top of the second against Johnson as they put together five hits in the frame, highlighted by a three-run homer by second baseman Will Feil (2-for-4, 4 RBI)
 
The Retrievers scored three times in the bottom of the fourth to trim the deficit to 6-4. Graduate student right fielder Ian Diaz (2-for-2, 2 runs, 2RBI) led-off with a single through the left side and then Molessa (61 RBI) launched his 15th big fly of the season to right center field. Ryan homered to left center on a 1-0 pitch just two batters later.
 
UMBC inched within 6-5 in the bottom of the fifth as Diaz delivered a two-out single to left to score Krueger, who had doubled to right center.
 
The hosts finally evened the contest in the bottom of the sixth on Swenda's two-out bomb to center field on the first pitch of the at bat.
 
UMBC scored four runs on three hits to go ahead for good in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Krueger doubled again to left center to ignite the rally. Diaz was then hit by a pitch and Molessa slashed a hard single through the right side to load the bases for Trythall. Trythall (42 RBI) then delivered a grand slam on a 2-0 pitch for his sixth homer of the season.
 
UAlbany scored the final run of the night in the top of the eighth on an RBI single by Feil.
 
UMBC and UAlbany will play the middle game of the series on Saturday at Alumni Field with first pitch scheduled for 3:00 p.m.