When the Fort McHenry Tunnel opened, drivers could thank Richard “Rock” Soracoe ’71, economics, for helping them see as they drove under the harbor. Soracoe spent 50-plus years in the lighting industry and helped source the original 8,870 8-ft light fixtures that lined the road. In retirement, he’s helping shed a different type of light. Soracoe and other members of the founding four classes at UMBC are putting their collective memories to work to assist in identifying people and events in UMBC’s archival material to help complete our UMBC history. One event—UMBC’s first intercollegiate athletics win—is a story Soracoe loves to tell.

I have the game ball in my hand. The red stitches feel familiar, and the leather sits in my palm like it was made to fit. I’m not on the mound winding up to pitch, however; I’m standing in the basement of the Albin O. Kuhn Library. It’s been 57 years since I last touched this baseball when UMBC won its first intercollegiate victory.

In 1967, UMBC’s inaugural fall sports season, the teams didn’t win a single game (as a member of the UMBC soccer team at the time, I was well aware of this), so it fell to baseball or lacrosse, the spring sports, to come through with the first win. While the details of that ballgame (a 3-2 win) are fuzzy now—all that remains officially is a 28-word write up in the Baltimore Sun archives—the game deserves its place of honor in the relatively short history of our institution. The budding campus newspaper, The Retriever Weekly, didn’t cover the game (although they did cover our loss to the same team the following week) and the box score is immortalized only as pen scratched onto the game ball’s leather.

Despite the lack of thorough archival material, in its own way, the game has certainly gone on to define aspects of my own life. Ken Diehl—the pitcher of the losing team, Catonsville Community College—would go on to transfer to UMBC the next year. We bonded over our shared Retriever spirit and also from our shared memories as roommates on UMBC’s first mini-mester trip to Europe in 1968. But it’s my Founding Four membership that drives me to keep memories like the first intercollegiate win alive.

As graduates of the first four classes at UMBC, we feel excited but also responsible for helping archive and catalog memories that might be unique to us. It’s one of the reasons we wrote This Belongs to Us, and it’s the reason we meet at the library to help the university archivists put appropriate names and metadata on early university yearbooks called Skipjack and other historical materials.

Left, the 1969 baseball team pictured in the 1969 university yearbook, Skipjack. Right, Soracoe in the black jersey also played on UMBC’s men’s soccer team.

When we were students here—walking around on plywood sidewalks on top of muddy construction sites—we weren’t thinking about creating the history of UMBC. We referred to the college as “high school plus one.” So our yearbooks rarely include captions or names and it’s up to us now to identify those people so that they’re not lost to history.

Some things have been lost to history. Louie Sowers [’70, American studies], a fellow classmate and student-athlete, stood up for Retriever women to have equal representation in university sports well before Title IX made it mandatory. She, along with Athletic Director Dick Watts, formed the women’s field hockey, basketball, and volleyball teams for the 1967 – 1968 academic year. Unfortunately, those records have been lost to time, so on paper, officially, women’s varsity sports only started in 1973.

I reached out to some teammates to see if they could help me fill in the missing blanks of that game in April 1967. We played at Banneker Field in Catonsville (referred to as the “loser’s field” in the Sun write up) because UMBC did not have its own field yet. It was a low-scoring game; CCC got the first two runs in the game in the bottom of the 7th inning. The top of the 8th would be our key to victory. After one runner already came in, my teammate Bill Rust [’71, history] remembers players on second and third. He was at bat, and lined our then-opponent Ken’s pitch into left center field for what would become the game-winning RBIs.

What I remember is pitching the whole game (90 pitches according to Bill’s memory), and being so grateful when Ken [’70, psychology] joined our team the next year as an additional pitcher. And over the years, I’ve grown comfortable with the idea that the individual details don’t matter as much as the whole picture. Stepping back to see the shape of my career, my marriage, and my friends, I can see how they’ve all been defined by my UMBC experience. 

UMBC was as welcoming as you wanted it to be, and still is today. My professors taught me the power of critical thinking and my coaches taught me the power of mental and physical discipline—which helped me in my job and my 36-year career as a high school and college soccer referee. I am very proud to say that I am a UMBC graduate and happy to see the tremendous achievement the university has attained from humble beginnings to worldwide status.

— Richard “Rock” Soracoe ’71, economics

With summer approaching, UMBC is taking advantage of this great weather by hosting events to bring our alums together once again. 

Retriever Golf Tournament
Monday, June 8, 1 p.m.
Turf Valley
2700 Turf Valley Rd.
Ellicott City, MD 21042

Join us! UMBC is hosting golf tournament for Retrievers past and present to come together and show off their Retriever Pride in support of UMBC Athletics. Gather with family, friends, UMBC Athletics, and alumni.

Register now.

UMBC Night at Camden Yards
Friday, June 12
5:30 picnic, 7:05 game
Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD
Tickets: $25

Watch the Orioles battle the New York Yankees on June 12 as the UMBC Alumni Association hosts this annual event. Enjoy a pre-game bullpen with family, friends, and UMBC alumni. The cost includes a seat in the stadium and a bullpen picnic. Hope to see you there!

Register here.

IT & Engineering Alumni Happy Hour
Wednesday, June 17, 6 – 8 p.m.
Location TBD

Join fellow graduates of the College of Engineering and Information Technology and those who now work in those fields for a networking happy hour. Enjoy fabulous food and drinks while connecting with other IT&E Retrievers.

Click here for more information.

Take a look at our full calendar of alumni events.

Baltimore has been practically giddy in the wake of the Orioles’ first round playoff win, which ushers the team into the Championship Series and one step closer to the World Series. And as the O’s get ready to take on the Kansas City Royals, we’d like to take a moment to highlight two UMBC alums who have also recently made the Orioles-related news.

Sergeant First Class Michael Zambito ’99, geography, was honored in Oriole Park’s Salute to Military Service during Game 1 of the Orioles playoffs last Thursday. The Salute is sponsored by the O’s and Bank of America and honors local service men and women for their service and sacrifice. Zambito attended UMBC on the GI Bill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5Ai9A0j4eQ

And Lauren Hall ’10, psychology and sociology; ’14 M.A., sociology, has been making the social media rounds with her clever parody of Lorde’s “Royals.” As the video steadily climbs towards 75,000 views, Hall is understandably overwhelmed by the enthusiastic reception. “I think it’s kind of funny,” Hall said in a WBALTV interview, “I wasn’t expecting the response that I got.” Hall is currently a University of Maryland research analyst.

And if any of you folks are on Twitter, keep an eye on #wewontstop. Let’s keep it trending all the way to a World Series win.

Spend some time with fellow alumni at these great events:

IT & Engineering Alumni Happy Hour
Wednesday, June 25, 6 – 8 p.m.
Union Jack’s
10400 Little Patuxent Pkwy
Columbia, MD 21044

An IT and an Engineering alum walk into a bar. The bartender says, “Hey, is this some kind of joke?” to which they reply, “No, we just like networking.” Enjoy a night out with fellow graduates of the College of Engineering and Information Technology and others now working in those fields for a networking happy hour at Union Jack’s for food and drinks. This event is sponsored by the UMBC Training Centers. RSVP to this FREE event now!

Battle of the Beltways: Orioles vs. Nationals
Wednesday, July 9, 5:30 p.m. picnic, 7 p.m. game
Camden Yards, Baltimore

The UMBC Alumni Association is hosting a night at Camden Yards as the Baltimore Orioles take on the Washington Nationals! Join other graduated Retriever Believers for a night of food, fun, and America’s favorite pastime.

The price for admission is $25 per person (limit 4) and each ticket includes a stadium seat and a pre-game picnic in the bullpen. For more information and to buy tickets, click here.

UMBC Night at the Nationals Stadium: Nationals vs. Phillies
Saturday, August 2, 5:30 p.m. picnic, 7 p.m. game
Nationals Stadium, Washington D.C.

If you missed the Battle of the Beltways, you have another chance to join the UMBC Alumni Association for a night of baseball! Come watch the Washington Nationals challenge the Philadelphia Phillies at the Nationals Stadium. The price of admission is $20 per person (limit 4) and each ticket includes a seat in the stadium and a pre-game picnic area. Our group will be seated in the Mezzanine Gallery. To purchase your tickets now or to learn more, click here.

Join us this summer for fun alumni events like these:

IT & Engineering Alumni Happy Hour
Wednesday, June 25, 6 – 8 p.m.
Union Jack’s
10400 Little Patuxent Pkwy
Columbia, MD 21044

An IT and an Engineering alum walk into a bar. The bartender says, “Hey, is this some kind of joke?” to which they reply, “No, we just like networking.” Join fellow graduates of the College of Engineering and Information Technology and those who now work in those fields for a networking happy hour. Enjoy fabulous food and drinks on us while connecting with other IT & E Retrievers. This event is sponsored by the UMBC Training Centers. RSVP to this FREE event now!

Battle of the Beltways: Orioles vs. Nationals
Wednesday, July 9, 5:30 p.m. picnic, 7 p.m. game
Camden Yards, Baltimore

Join the UMBC Alumni Association for UMBC Night at Camden Yards as the Orioles take on the Nationals. The price of admission is $25 per person (limit 4) and each ticket includes a seat in the stadium as well as a pre-game picnic in the bullpen. For more information and to buy tickets, click here.

UMBC Night at Nationals Stadium: Nationals vs. Phillies
Saturday, August 2, 5:30 p.m. picnic, 7 p.m. game
Nationals Stadium, Washington D.C.

Join the UMBC Alumni Association for UMBC Night at Nationals Stadium as the Washington Nationals take on the Philadelphia Phillies. The price of admission is $20 per person (limit 4) and each ticket includes a seat in the stadium as well as a pre-game picnic area. The seat location for our group will be located in the Mezzanine Gallery. To purchase your tickets and learn more, click here.

Check out our full events calendar.

WORDS AND MUSIC

Open the door to Annapolis’ Rams Head Tavern and the sounds of upbeat banjo and guitar fly out into the warm night air, followed by closely by the gruff voice of Adam Trice ’04, English – who’s in the middle of a 45-minute set with his band, Red Sammy.

“It ain’t you, it ain’t her,” Trice growls tunefully in a song called “It Ain’t You (Carolina Road Anthem).” “I’m heading south, but I’m not sure. You got me high, it’s kind of funny. I’m playing bars for gas money.”

Trice dubs Red Sammy’s music as “graveyard country” because he likes the verbal interplay of the phrase. “I feel like it brings up a lot of different connotations that are associated with those two words,” explains Trice. The band has released a few records, including A Cheap Kind of Love Song and Dog Hang Low, both of which are available online or at the band’s shows.

Studying literature at UMBC had a hand in his musical direction. “My music’s more lyric driven, and I think it really banks off my English degree,” he explains. “A lot of electives in the creative writing track. They are the strong focus from which I draw.”

While Trice also pursues a day job as director of foundation relations and grant writing and development at Capitol College in Laurel, he enjoys playing for tips in a Jeremiah Weed bucket and is going to keep playing for the foreseeable future. “My plan is to continue pushing the art and seeing where that goes,” he says.

— Derek Roper ’11
Photo: Tedd Henn

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

The UMBC men’s soccer team’s 2010 campaign was a season to remember – and the 2011 squad will have a chance to shine on national television during UMBC’s Homecoming weekend as a result.

The America East conference announced that the Retrievers’ October 14 match against the University of New Hampshire will be televised nationally at 7 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel as part of the network’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America Game of the Week package.

A traditional part of UMBC Homecoming, the men’s soccer game moved last year from its customary slot on Saturday afternoon to a new slot under the lights as a linchpin of Friday night’s festivities. The new tradition was a big hit: last year’s game against Boston University drew almost 3,000 spectators to Retriever Soccer Park.

This year’s game against New Hampshire is a rematch of a bitterly fought America East championship game last November at Retriever Soccer Park, which saw UMBC triumph after double overtime and a series of penalty kicks. The victory sent the Retrievers to the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament, where they won a thrilling come-from-behind victory against Princeton University before bowing to the College of William and Mary (also on penalty kicks) to end their season.

The national television audience won’t only get a glimpse of this year’s team and UMBC’s Homecoming spirit on October 14; they will also see a revamped Retriever Soccer Park that has added even more seats and more lights to one of the best soccer facilities in the region.

— Richard Byrne ’86

PLASTIC FANTASTIC

Plastic cups with UMBC’s logo and wild orange and yellow splashes were a hit at the university’s New Student Day. But incoming UMBC freshman Allison Olender decided to make a hit of her own – a sprightly video cover version of “You’re Gonna Miss Me” by Lulu and the Lampshades – in which she used the funky giveaway cup as percussion.

Olender posted her video on UMBC’s Class of 2015 Meet and Greet site – a Facebook group where incoming freshmen can find out who might be in their classes or dorm room, get a head start on making new friends and have their questions answered by fellow classmates.

The video made a splash with Olender’s fellow classmates, which isn’t surprising. The recent Bel Air High School grad with “an affinity for jazz” says that she has “been singing for the majority of my life” – in musicals, on the web and in a new band called “Prison Music.”

“When I posted the video,” Olender says, “I did not expect to generate such a warm and positive response.” She says she was attracted to UMBC by “the terrific atmosphere…. I knew that I wanted to attend a school that had excitement and integrity rooted in the system, and when I visited UMBC, my expectations were met.”

Look for UMBC’s new viral video star in person when she starts attending class in Spring 2012. “It means the world to me that the others were so responsive,” Olender says, “and I hope to share my music on campus.”

(You can check out more of Allison Olender’s music at her website: www.allisonolender.com)

— Richard Byrne ’86

CLIMBING THE LADDER

In 2008, former UMBC Retriever pitcher Zach Clark ’06, psychology, was with the Frederick Keys – a Class A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles – when he got the news that he was needed at Class AAA Norfolk Tides for a spot starting assignment.

The good news traveled fast, but Clark didn’t. It was only after a long bus trip with the Keys from Kinston, NC, to Myrtle Beach, SC, and an early morning flight to Syracuse, NY, that Clark finally joined his new club. He pitched for the Tides that same night.

“I slept at the hotel during the day, went to the field and pitched,” recalls Clark, who has played in the Orioles farm system since 2006. “That was pretty crazy. I didn’t know anybody. That was my first time at Triple A.”

Signed by Orioles’ scout Dean Albany as a non-drafted free agent after leaving UMBC in 2006, Clark started this season pitching for the Class AA Bowie Baysox. He began 2011 with a minor league record of 24-28 and an ERA of 3.61 in 119 games.

Clark knows life as a pitcher on-call is part of the path to the big leagues. He once battled heavy traffic from Bowie to Norfolk, VA to take the mound for Tides in a night game.

In games through Aug. 4 of this season Clark was 6-7 with an ERA of 5.14 in 18 games (with 17 starts) for Bowie in the Eastern League. Clark was named the Eastern League pitcher of the week on May 2 of this season.

— David Driver

The tough-minded attitude that pitcher Jay Witasick ’93, learned on the way to the major leagues served him well during a 12-year career there – and informs his work these days with TWC Sports Management in Timonium.

“I was mentally tough,” says Witasick. “No matter what happened in the game, I was ready the next day. When the game was over, the game was over. Even today in business, I never let any one game or one out define a whole career.”

As a transfer to UMBC as a rising sophomore, Witasick posted a 7-5 record for the Retrievers over two years. He was 4-1 with four complete games in 1993 and finished second in the nation with 12.3 strikeouts per game. He signed a professional contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, who picked him in the second round of the 1993 draft.

Witasick finally broke into the major leagues with the Oakland A’s in 1996 and pitched for seven teams over 12 years. A starter early in his pro career, he then shifted to the bullpen – from which he made 349 of his 405 appearances and retired with a 32-41 record and a 4.64 ERA.

Today, Witasick guides a new generation of players – both at TWC and as an assistant baseball coach at Harford Community College. Players under his tutelage benefit from the experiences of his battling baseball career, but his own memories center on the joys of that life in Major League Baseball.

“I enjoyed every day I played in the big leagues,” says Witasick, who played in two World Series. “I felt like a kid for 15 years straight. It’s fun. That’s the way it should be.”

— Jeff Seidel ’85

UMBC has named 1994 economics alumnus Bob Mumma the new head coach for baseball. Mumma, who was drafted by the White Sox following his graduation from UMBC, has served as assistant coach to the team for the last 15 seasons. He was inducted into UMBC Athletics’ Hall of Fame in 1997.

Mumma succeeds John Jancuska, who had coached the men since 1978.

Read the full press release here.

Kevin Cepelak ’05, political science, has a job that comes with a pass that gets him into any Major League Baseball (MLB) park. And when he gets to his office near New York City’s Grand Central Station each day, he rubs elbows with former greats of the game and a chance to work with former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and former New York City Police Department investigators. And he spends his days compiling reports that help MLB officials tackle problem issues in professional sports ranging from steroids to gambling.

Cepelak’s work as an analyst for MLB’s Department of Investigations – professional baseball’s internal watchdog on a variety of issues involving the sport’s integrity – is heady and somewhat surprising stuff for a recent UMBC graduate. After all, the sport that Cepelak played as a Retriever from 2002 through 2005 involved sticks, not bats.

“I never thought in a million years that I’d go from lacrosse to working in baseball,” says Cepelak over lunch at an Italian restaurant near MLB’s Park Avenue headquarters.

Read the full story in the Summer 2011 issue of UMBC Magazine.