BALTIMORE -- Senior Luke Trythall's second inning two-run double was all the offense that was needed as the UMBC Baseball team clinched the No.2 seed in next week's America East Tournament with a 2-0, seven-inning, win over visiting Bryant in game one of a doubleheader on Friday afternoon.

The victory was the Retrievers 18th consecutive win at home and clinched the series victory over the regular season champion Bulldogs.

Jayden Shertel went five-plus scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing just four singles. Graduate student Sam Downs pitched the final two innings, striking out three, to pick up his fourth save of the season.

Seniors Dawson Baracani and Anthony Swenda joined graduate student Justin Taylor and sophomore Nico Ong with a hit in the contest.

Bryant loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first, but Shertel got a strikeout and flyout to escape the jam. The Bulldogs then put the first two on in the top of the second, but Shertel used a pair of strikeouts and a pop-up to end the threat, and was never seriously threatened the rest of the way.

In the bottom of the second, Swenda reached on a single and moved to second when Derek Paris was hit by a pitch with one out. Both would then score on Trythalls double off the wall in center.

Shertel walked the leadoff batter in the sixth and was lifted for Downs, who got a strikeout, but then allowed a softly hit single to put two on. Downs would get the next two batters on flyouts to end the inning, before striking out the first two batters of the seventh. Matt Ryan then snagged a low liner to third to end the contest and clinch the first-round bye for the Dawgs.

The Retrievers used 14 different hitters and six pitchers in the second game of the doubleheader, as the Bulldogs won the finale, 8-5. 

Danny Wyatt went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI, Nico Ong went 2-for-2 and Taylor went 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored before all were lifted in the top of the sixth for defensive replacements with the score tied at five.

Jesiah Carpenter entered in the top of the fifth and went 2-for-2 with an RBI, Trythall added a game-tying RBI groundout in the fifth, while Swenda and Matthew Best each added singles.

Senior Joe Pucek entered in relief and retired all four batters he faced, and classmate Sam Daniels needed only eight pitches to work a perfect sixth inning out of the bullpen.

The Retrievers will play the highest remaining seed on Thursday in the second round of the America East Tournament at Binghamton.