BALTIMORE -- The UMBC Baseball team scored the final five runs of the game to defeat visiting George Washington, 7-4, on Tuesday evening to earn its fifth-straight win.
Bennett Speicher was brilliant in relief, retiring 10 of the final 11 batters he faced as he went a career high 4.1 innings in picking up his second win of the season.
Chris Harbert relieved Speicher and worked a scoreless final 1.2 innings to pick up his second save of the year.
Aidan Boice got his first career start and allowed just one unearned run, one hit and struck out two in 3.0 innings.
After GW took a 1-0 lead in the first on an error, UMBC (14-9) responded with two in the bottom half of the inning.
Dylan Melton hit a leadoff single and was safe at second on an error that put two on with no outs. After a ground out and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases,
Danny Orr tied the game with a sacrifice fly, and
Derek Paris gave the Dawgs the lead with an RBI single.
It remained 2-1 UMBC until the fourth when the Revolutionaries hit a three-run homer to go up 4-2. The Retrievers got a run back in the bottom of the fifth when Orr singled with one out, moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a Paris infield single.
Kyle Eddington then laid down a squeeze bunt to score Orr and make it 4-3.
After Speicher worked his second straight perfect inning in the sixth, UMBC tied the game in the bottom half of the inning.
Anthony Mascuilli worked a full-count walk with two outs and would score all the way from first when
Ehi Okojie doubled to the left center gap on a hit-and-run to tie the game.
The Retrievers took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh after Orr and Paris walked to leadoff the inning. With two outs and two on,
Jacob Bagania drew a pinch-hit walk, and Melton then walked to drive in the eventual winning run. Mascuilli was hit-by-a-pitch to force in another and make it 6-4.
UMBC got the final run of the game in the bottom of the eighth when
Danny Wyatt hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Paris sacrifice fly. GW got the tying run to the plate with two outs in the top of the ninth, but Harbert got a strikeout to end the game.
The Dawgs step out of America East play as they host a three-game series with Iona this weekend. Game one of the series will be on Thursday at 6 p.m., Game two will also be at 6 p.m., and Saturday's finale will be at 3 p.m.
