Maryland
UMBC
Maryland Baseball Earns Its 29th Win Of The Season At UMBC, 18-2
5/1/2002 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 1, 2002
BALTIMORE, Md.- Senior rightfielder Matt Swope (New Carrollton, Md.) set a career-high by going 5-for-6 with three runs and two RBIs to lead Maryland to an 18-2 win over UMBC Wednesday afternoon at Alumni Field in Baltimore. The Terps totaled a season-high 23 hits in the 16-run rout of the Retrievers.
The victory for the Terrapins is their 29th of the season as Maryland is now 29-19 while UMBC dropped to 26-17. The 29 wins also tie the school record for single-season victories with the 1991 team, which finished 29-27-1. The 1991 squad was also the last Terrapin club to have a winning season.
In the first, freshman catcher Jason Maxey (Columbia, Md.) doubled to center field to score Swope to give Maryland a 1-0 lead.
The Terps took advantage of three costly UMBC errors in the second to score three runs. Both sophomore first baseman Anthony Buffone (Manalapan, N.J.) and freshman centerfielder Justin Maxwell (Olney, Md.) scored on throwing errors and Swope stroked a double to left center to score junior leftfielder Daryl Whitmer (Waldorf, Md.) to give the Terrapins a 4-0 lead.
Maryland blew the game open in the third with three more runs to knock UMBC starter Zach Clark out of the game. Freshman second baseman Joe Sargent (Chesapeake Beach, Md.) drove in one run with a RBI-groundout and Whitmer singled to center with two outs and the bases loaded to score two and give Maryland a 7-0 advantage.
The Retrievers scored their first run of the contest in the home half of the third via a balk by Maryland starter Derek Hoffman (Hagerstown, Md.).
In the Terrapin eighth, Maryland started the frame with five consecutive hits including a two-run triple by Whitmer and RBI-doubles by Swope and junior shortstop John McCurdy (Crofton, Md.) to stretch the lead to 11-1. Later in the inning, junior pinch hitter Ray Gemmill (Silver Spring, Md.) doubled down the leftfield line to make the score 12-1 Maryland.
UMBC scored one in the eighth before the Terps scored another six runs in the ninth to close out the scoring at 18-2. In the Terrapin ninth, the big blow in the inning came when junior first baseman Jonny Bass (Charlotte Hall, Md.) blasted his first career grand slam to deep right field for the Terrapins' only home run of the day.
Maryland reliever Brooks Norris (Baltimore, Md.) earned the victory for the Terps and improved to 2-0 on the season. Norris tossed 2.1 innings and fanned three for the victors.
The Terps return to Shipley Field Thursday to begin a three-game series with NC State. First pitch vs. the Wolfpack is set for 7 p.m. tomorrow night.
