Maryland
St Josephs Pa
Baseball Wins Its 10th Straight At Home
3/19/2002 7:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 19, 2002
COLLEGE PARK, Md.- Junior shortstop John McCurdy (Crofton, Md.) and senior catcher Kevin McDonald (Rockaway, N.J.) each drove in two runs as Maryland defeated St. Joseph's, 6-4, Tuesday afternoon in collegiate baseball action at Shipley Field. The win for the Terrapins was their 10th consecutive at home as Maryland improved to 15-5 with the victory while St. Joe's fell to 1-15-1.
The Terrapins struck quickly in the first inning as the first four hitters in the inning reached base. After a leadoff walk to senior center fielder Matt Swope (New Carrollton, Md.), Maryland used three straight doubles to take a 3-0 lead. Sophomore first baseman Anthony Buffone (Manalapan, N.J.) started with the first double, and scored when McCurdy drove a double to right center that also scored Swope. McDonald followed with another double to right center to score McCurdy.
St. Joe's scored once in the second on a solo home run by left fielder Justin Godusky to cut the Maryland lead to 3-1.
The Hawks crept even closer in the fourth, scoring another run to make the score 3-2. Third baseman William Menke delivered a sacrifice fly to right to score the Hawks' second run of the game.
Maryland got one run back in the fifth inning to take a 4-2 lead. McDonald drove in his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly to right, to score Swope.
St. Joe's would tie the game at four in the seventh with a pair of runs. Shortstop Pace Bradshaw and first baseman Bill McCollum each had RBI-singles for the Hawks' two runs.
The Terrapins answered right back, scoring once in the seventh and the eighth to close out the scoring at 6-4. In the seventh, McCurdy scored on a wild pitch for the game-winning run while Maryland added an insurance run in the eighth. Junior third baseman Kyle George (Bel Air, Md.) drilled a single down the right field line that scored freshman second baseman Joe Sargent (Chesapeake Beach, Md.) for the important run.
Maryland reliever Matt Basinger (Connellsville, Pa.) earned his third win of the season after pitching 2.0 inning of relief for the win. Basinger struck out three to improve to 3-0. St. Joe's starter Eric Vardijan lasted 7.2 innings and surrendered six runs on 10 hits to fall to 0-2 on the year. Maryland reliever Ken Beck (Laurel, Md.) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his fourth save of the season for the Terrapins.
The Terps continue their five-game homestand Wednesday vs. UMBC. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Shipley Field.
