April 3, 2001
Box Score
BALTIMORE, Md.- Senior first baseman Chuck Easter (Baltimore, Md.) hit for the cycle by going 4-for-5 with four RBIs as Maryland cruised to an easy 14-6 victory over UMBC Tuesday afternoon at Alumni Field. It was the first time in 108 years of baseball at Maryland that a player has hit for the cycle.
UMBC grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Second baseman Chad Gerben singled to center, scoring third baseman Adam Hawkey.
The Terrapins got on the board with a run in the top of the second. Sophomore second baseman John McCurdy (Crofton, Md.) blasted his third homerun of the year off UMBC starter Tony Watkins to right-center, tying the score at 1-1.
The Retrievers regained the lead in the fourth inning with another run. First baseman Jeff Fraley hit a RBI single to center to give UMBC a 2-1 advantage.
The Terps exploded for seven runs over the fifth and sixth innings to take a commanding 8-2 lead. Junior center fielder Matt Swope (New Carrollton, Md.) tied the game at two with a RBI single to center to score designated hitter Ray Gemmill (Silver Spring, Md.). Later in the inning, junior catcher Kevin McDonald (Rockaway, N.J.) delivered the big blow in the inning with a two-out, two-run single to left, to give Maryland its first lead of the game at 4-2.
In the Maryland sixth, the Terrapins added four more runs to take an 8-2 lead. Ray Gemmill smacked a two-RBI double down the left field line to give the Terps' a 6-2 advantage. The double was one of a career-high three hits (3 doubles) on the day for the Silver Spring product. Right fielder Anthony Buffone (Manalapan, N.J.) would add a RBI single to center to send in Gemmill for Maryland's seventh run of the game. Buffone advanced to third on the play when UMBC center fielder John Shuler committed a two-base error and he later scored on a wild pitch by UMBC reliever Ashley Roque.
UMBC had four hits and scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to close the Terrapin lead to 8-5.
The Terps added three more runs in the seventh to regain their six-run advantage at 11-5. Chuck Easter had the big hit in the inning with a long homerun to right. The two-run shot was Easter's first homer of the year.
UMBC added a run in the bottom half of the seventh when Easter was back at it again for the Terrapins. After hitting a single in the second, a double in the sixth and a homerun in the seventh, Easter ripped a triple down the right field line in the eighth to complete the historic day. The two-RBI triple gave the Terrapins a 13-6 lead. The Baltimore native would score on a wild pitch later in the inning to score the Terps' 14th and final run.
Maryland starter Mark Martin (Manassas, Va.) tossed 5.2 innings to record his team-leading third win of the year.
With the win, the Terps move to 7-18 on the season while UMBC falls to 14-9-2. Maryland is back in action tomorrow against Coppin State. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Shipley Field.
Game Notes: Matt Swope extended his hitting streak to 10 games by going 1-for-6. The streak is one game short of his career-best 11-game hitting streak, set earlier this season ... Ray Gemmill's three doubles were were the most hit by a Terp this season.
