Maryland
Pace
Terrapin Baseball Wins Its Fifth Straight In Dramatic Fashion
3/2/2002 7:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 2, 2002
COLLEGE PARK, Md.- Junior shortstop John McCurdy (Crofton, Md.) blasted a walkoff three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give Maryland a dramatic 9-6 victory over Pace to complete a three-game sweep over the Setters.
The victory for the red-hot Terrapins (7-2) was their fifth in a row, their longest winning streak since March 30-April 9 of 1999, when Maryland won eight straight. The three-game sweep was also a first for a Terrapin club since 1999 when the Terps took three in a row at Elon (Feb. 13-14).
The seesaw got started with Pace scoring three runs in the top of the first. The Setters used four hits to score the three runs including a two-run single by designated hitter Marc DeLuca.
The Terrapins would answer back in the bottom of the second by scoring four runs to take the lead, 4-3. The big hit in the inning came from freshman second baseman Joe Sargent (Chesapeake Beach, Md.) as he belted his first career home run, a three-run shot, over the left field fence.
Sargent drove in the fourth of his career high four RBIs in the bottom of the fourth on a RBI groundout to score freshman left fielder Will Frazier (Mitchellville, Md.) to give Maryland a 5-3 lead.
Pace scored two unearned in the top of the seventh to tie the game at five. Third baseman Doug Hehner drove in two runs when Sargent committed an error to score the two runs.
The Terps came right back in the home half of the inning when McCurdy drove in his first run of the game on a sacrifice fly to score Daryl Whitmer (Waldorf, Md.) and put Maryland up, 6-5.
The Setters would not go down without a fight as they scored a run in the top of the eighth to knot the score at six. Pinch hitter Keith Carolan delivered the big two-out RBI single to tie the contest again.
The score would remained deadlocked through nine innings until the 11th when McCurdy ended things with one swing. After third baseman Kyle George (Bel Air, Md.) was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Whitmer was intentionally walked, McCurdy drilled a long home run over the left center fence.
Maryland would not have been in position to win if it was not for senior reliever Ken Beck (Laurel, Md.). Beck (1-0) earned his first win of the season by pitching 3.1 shutout innings. He allowed just one hit over his stint with two strikeouts, and in four relief appearances this season Beck has not given up a run on just one hit in 6.0 innings of work.
The Terps are now 7-2 with the victory while Pace falls to 0-3. Maryland is back in action Tuesday (March 5) with a doubleheader vs. UMES. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Shipley Field.
