April 16, 2002

Box Score

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Freshman center fielder Justin Maxwell (Olney, Md.) scored three runs, including the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth, as Maryland wiped out a four-run deficit en route to a 10-7 victory over Penn State Tuesday night at Shipley Field. Maxwell received the last of four consecutive walks Nittany Lions pitchers issued to begin the sixth inning, as the Terps went on to score five runs on two hits, four walks, a passed ball and a hit batsman and complete the comeback from a 5-1 fifth-inning deficit.

The Terps' comeback overshadowed a five-RBI night by Penn State center fielder Wes Reohr, who put the Nittany Lions up 2-0 in the first inning with the first of his two home runs on the night.

Maryland scored a lone run in the third inning on a RBI single by junior shortstop John McCurdy (Crofton, Md.), but Reohr hit a three-run homer off Maryland starter Sean Kane (West Chester, Pa.) in the top of the fifth to give Penn State a four-run lead.

However, it was all Maryland the rest of the way as the Terps scored the next seven runs of the game, beginning with RBI hits from senior right fielder Matt Swope (New Carrollton, Md.) and freshman first baseman Jason Maxey (Columbia, Md.) in the fifth. But they also had some help from three Penn State pitchers who gave up five runs in the sixth inning despite only two balls leaving the infield.

After the first three walks of the inning, Penn State reliever Justin Nash (1-4) uncorked a wild pitch that scored freshman designated hitter Will Frazier (Mitchellville, Md.). After Maxwell walked, junior left fielder Daryl Whitmer (Waldorf, Md.) hit a RBI infield single to bring the Terps to within 5-4. A passed ball scored freshman second baseman Joe Sargent (Chesapeake Beach, Md.) to tie the game before Swope's RBI grounder scored Maxwell to give the Terps the lead they would not relinquish. Maxey capped the scoring with a one-out RBI single, the first ball to leave the infield in the inning.

McCurdy added some insurance runs for the Terps in the eighth inning with his team-leading 17th home run of the season, a two-run blast over the fence in left-center field. McCurdy now stands alone in fourth place on the Terps' all-time single-season home run list, while his 66 RBI on the season leave him in a tie for second all-time with Alex Pauley.

Penn State scored single runs in the seventh and ninth innings and brought the tying run to the plate with two outs in the final frame, but senior Terrapin closer Ken Beck (Laurel, Md.) struck out Penn State's Mike Milliron to end the game.

Whitmer led the Terps with a 4-for-5 night and scored two runs. McCurdy had two hits and three RBI, while Maxey and Swope each had two hits and two RBI.

Junior righthander Matt Basinger (Conellsville, Pa.) earned the win for the Terps with 3.1 innings of one-run relief. Basinger (5-1) allowed two hits and struck out two in relief of Kane, who allowed five runs on nine hits in the first start of his career. Nash, the second of three Nittany Lions pitchers in the sixth inning, was saddled with the loss after allowing three runs in 0.1 inning.

With the win, Maryland improved to 23-14 overall, including a 17-5 record at Shipley Field. Penn State fell to 13-17.

The Terps return to action tomorrow with a 5:00 p.m. game at Navy.