Ashland, Va. – The St. Mary's College of Maryland baseball team opened up the 2012 campaign with a non-conference extra-inning loss at Randolph-Macon College Saturday afternoon, dropping a 4-3 decision in eight innings.

Junior Jake Fletcher (Deltaville, Va./Middlesex) broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the eighth with a double, to drive in first-year Zach Broaddus (Mechanicsville, Va./Hanover) and give R-MC Yellow Jackets (1-0) a 4-3 win over St. Mary's on opening day at Estes Field.

Randolph-Macon (1-0) jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the second inning as the Yellow Jackets scored three runs.  After junior Michael Helbig (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) drew a lead-off walk, senior Matt Musser (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis) opened the scoring with an RBI triple down the right field line.  First-year Nate Meiners (Silver Spring, Md./St. John's Prep) then drove in Musser by grounding out to second and senior Jordan Walton (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis) capped the scoring with an RBI double to right center to bring in Fletcher.

St. Mary's (0-1) responded with two runs on five hits in the top of the sixth to cut the lead to one.  Junior Corey Napier (Hollywood, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) came home on a sacrifice fly by first-year Zach Nadolny (Sparks, Md./Bel Air) after Napier led off the inning with a double.  Sophomore Alex Lenovitz (Glyndon, Md./Calvert Hall) connected on an RBI single to bring home senior Keith Johnson (Great Mills, Md./Great Mills) for the second run of the inning.

The Seahawks managed to tie the game at 3-3 in the seventh inning as Napier's RBI double drove in senior John Stewart (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's, Annapolis) who had led off with a single.

The Yellow Jackets had an opportunity to win in regulation as senior Brian Jordan (Columbia, Va./Goochland) hit a lead-off triple in the bottom of the seventh.  Junior LHP Wick Eisenberg (Towson, Md./Friends School) pitched St. Mary's out of the jam with a strikeout, a ground out, an intentional walk to Musser, and another ground out, leaving R-MC runners on second and third.

In the bottom of the eighth, Broaddus registered a one-out single in which he beat out Napier's throw.  Fletcher then followed with a double to left center to seal the victory for R-MC.

Napier led the Seahawks with two doubles and an RBI while Johnson and senior Nick Urso (Newtown, Conn./Newtown) each recorded two hits on the day as well.  Eisenberg (0-1) took the loss for St. Mary's after allowing the game-winning run in relief of senior start Devon Jerrard (Hunt Valley, Md./Boys' Latin) in the seventh.

The Seahawks will return to the Hawk's Nest for a home-opening doubleheader with City College of New York on Saturday, February 18 at 11:00 am.