Umbc

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Right-hander Zach Clark's first taste of the major leagues lasted just one appearance, but given the long road it took to get there, the UMBC product wasn't surprised by the news that he had been designated for assignment before Saturday's afternoon game against the Angels at Angel Stadium. The Orioles needed to make both 25-man and 40-man roster space for Saturday's starter, right-hander Freddy Garcia, and Clark - a non-drafted free agent who signed for $1,000 and played parts of eight years in the minor leagues before this week's promotion  - was the odd man out. “It's about right for my path,” Clark said.

UMBC has enjoyed some memorable comebacks wins during Don Zimmerman's tenure. Just a couple that come to mind include a five-goal rally to edge Maryland, 8-7, on March 6, 2012 and a 5-1 fourth quarter to nip Albany, 14-13, in an America East tournament final on May 3, 2008. But the longtime coach said that the Retrievers' six-goal explosion in Thursday's 15-13 decision over Hartford in a conference tournament semifinal at Stony Brook may have been one of best he witnessed. “That was a special comeback, especially against a team like Hartford in a championship setting,” Zimmerman said Friday morning.

Joe Lustgarten scored the final two goals, including the game-winner with 55seconds left and an insurance goal 21seconds later, to cap a 6-0 run as the third-seeded UMBC men's lacrosse team upset second-seeded Hartford, 15-13, in an America East Conference semifinal at Stony Brook's LaValle Stadium. The Retrievers (7-7) advance to their first championship game since 2009 and will meet No. 10 Albany on Saturday at 10 a.m.. Lustgarten led the Retrievers with four goals and two assists, while Scott Jones and freshman Pat Young added three goals each.

Of the 11 different players who have started in UMBC's midfield, freshman Pat Young has the most starts with 11 and junior Conor Finch is second with six. Next on that list is senior Joe Lustgarten, who has made five starts after spending the last two seasons as a starting attackman. As the Retrievers prepare for Thursday's America East tournament semifinal against Hartford at Stony Brook, Lustgarten is slated to make his fifth consecutive start in the midfield. In the team's last four contests, he has scored four goals on nine shots and assisted on five others.

SEATTLE - As a veteran of eight minor league seasons, right-hander Zach Clark has endured plenty of excruciating bus rides during his career. He had never been on a cross-country flight, however, until he flew to Seattle on Tuesday. The five-hour airplane ride seemed even longer knowing what was on the other side: The Safeco Field clubhouse and his No. 64 Orioles uniform hanging in his first big league locker. "I've never been on a long flight, so five hours on a plane was crazy," said the 29-year-old Clark, who was added to the Orioles' 25-man roster Tuesday as bullpen insurance.

With a 6-7 record, UMBC's only path to the NCAA tournament entails winning the America East tournament at Stony Brook and capturing the automatic qualifier that accompanies that honor. A loss to Hartford in Thursday's semifinal or to the Albany-Stony Brook winner from the other semifinal would mean the Retrievers would begin their offseason next week while the NCAA tournament rages on. The importance of the conference tournament is not lost on coach Don Zimmerman. “Beginning Thursday, it's sudden death,” he said Tuesday afternoon.

Right-hander Zach Clark, the former UMBC player who was added to the club's 40-man roster this offseason, will be activated by the Orioles tonight in Seattle, an organizational source said. He will provide some bullpen insurance as the Orioles are in the middle of an 11-game road trip on the West Coast. Clark is a pretty incredible story. A non-drafted free agent out of UMBC in 2006, the Newark, Del., native was signed by the club's local baseball guru, Dean Albany. Clark, who turns 30 in July, is in his eighth year in the minors without ever getting a big-league sniff until now. He may be returning soon to the minors -- the Orioles under Dan Duquette are known for shuffling players back and forth.

SEATTLE - Orioles left-hander Zach Britton was hoping to get more than one start to show the organization that he had regained the form that made him one of the club's most promising pitchers a few years ago. He is going to have to do that again at Triple-A. As part of Tuesday's roster shuffling designed to provide help for the bullpen, Britton was optioned to Norfolk and right-hander Zach Clark , a UMBC product, was recalled from Triple-A. "They needed another guy, the bullpen has been battered," said Britton, who allowed six earned runs in six innings Monday in his first start of the season for the Orioles.

Loyola junior defenseman Joe Fletcher received the final Eastern College Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week award for the season Monday after helping the Greyhounds defeat host Johns Hopkins, 8-4, on Saturday. Fletcher was a big part of the Greyhounds' defense that held the Blue Jays scoreless for the final 29:18 of the game and limited them to 1-for-19 shooting after halftime. He had marking responsibilities for Johns Hopkins' leading scorer, Wells Stanwick (Boys' Latin)

Loyola, Towson and UMBC learned their seeding in their respective conference tournaments, which will take place later this week. The No. 7 and reigning national champion Greyhounds (11-3) earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament. Despite finishing with an identical 6-1 league record as No. 6 Denver (11-3), the Pioneers got the top seed due to a head-to-head tiebreaker stemming from their 13-12 overtime decision against Loyola on April 13. The Greyhounds will face No. 8 Ohio State (10-3 overall and 5-2 in the ECAC)