CATONSVILLE, Md. (Interstat) — The Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers overcame a four-run deficit Saturday to defeat the NJIT Highlanders 7-4 at Alumni Field in an America East afternoon contest.

The Retrievers improved to 26-22 overall, while the Highlanders fell to 16-31-1. The victory capped a three-game sweep after UMBC had beaten NJIT 17-6 on Friday and 12-4 on Thursday.

NJIT seized control in the top of the second inning with four runs off UMBC starter Sergio Droz. Ben Robinson singled and advanced on a wild pitch, Dillon Can walked and CJ Wisniewski bunted for a single to load the bases. Brady LeJeune-DeAcutis relieved Droz but Ty Sallie walked to force in a run. Austin Francis grounded into a double play that allowed Can to score. Cole Campbell followed with an RBI single that plated Wisniewski, giving NJIT a 4-0 lead.

The Highlanders extended their advantage to 5-0 in the fourth inning when Jack Stead doubled to left-center off reliever Kailen Hackmann, scoring Austin Francis who had walked and stolen second.

UMBC’s offense came alive in the bottom of the fifth against NJIT starter Brandon Peterson. Brooks Henderson singled, Kyle Eddington singled and Jesiah Carpenter walked to load the bases. Dylan Melton singled to right for the first run. Danny Orr lifted a sacrifice fly to left, cutting the deficit to 4-2. After a walk to Ehi Okojie, Josh Willitts relieved Peterson. Danny Wyatt greeted him with a two-run double to third base, tying the game at 4-4.

The Retrievers took the lead in the sixth against Willitts. Eddington singled and stole second, then Melton delivered another RBI single to right, making it 5-4.

UMBC added a run in the seventh off Willitts. Danny Orr singled, Okojie walked and Wyatt singled to left to score Orr, pushing the lead to 6-4. Anthony Anzaldi replaced Willitts and escaped further damage.

The Retrievers tacked on an insurance run in the eighth. Jesiah Carpenter doubled down the left-field line off Anzaldi, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on Anthony Mascuilli’s bunt single, giving UMBC a 7-4 advantage.

Hackmann was the top star for UMBC, working four innings and allowing one earned run on two hits with five strikeouts. He entered in the fourth after LeJeune-DeAcutis had recorded two scoreless innings of relief. In his two previous outings, Hackmann had thrown two hitless innings at Bryant on May 9 and 3 1/3 innings with three hits and one earned run against Coppin State on May 5.

Brady Fox pitched two perfect innings of relief with four strikeouts, and LeJeune-DeAcutis finished the game with two innings of one-hit ball and one strikeout. For NJIT, Peterson struck out six over 4 2/3 innings but allowed four earned runs on seven hits. Willitts took the loss, giving up three earned runs in 2 1/3 innings.

Offensively, Melton went 3 for 5 with two RBIs for UMBC. Wyatt was 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Mascuilli added two hits, including the bunt single that drove in the final run. For NJIT, Stead was 1 for 4 with an RBI, and Campbell had two hits.

The game’s pivotal sequence came in the fifth inning when UMBC erased NJIT’s four-run lead with four runs on four hits, erasing what had been a dominant start for the Highlanders.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of UMBC 6, NJIT 3. The Interstat ELO system gave the Retrievers a 57.40 percent probability to win.