May 14, 2002

Box Score

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Terrapin baseball team's senior trio celebrated its final home game in style, closing out the regular season with a come-from-behind, 10-8 victory over William and Mary Tuesday night. Senior right fielder Matt Swope (New Carrollton, Md.) connected for the game-winning home run in the bottom of the eighth as the Terps claimed their school-record 25th home victory of the season on Senior Night at Shipley Field.

Senior closer Ken Beck (Laurel, Md.) also made his final game a memorable one, inducing a double-play grounder to end the game. The save was his seventh of the season, tying the side-arming right-hander with three others for Maryland's single-season saves record.

Coming around to score on Swope's sixth home run of the season was senior catcher Kevin McDonald (Rockaway, N.J.), who had earlier hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning to tie the game at 6-6. The home run was McDonald's fifth of the season.

Not to be outdone by the triumvirate of seniors, junior second baseman John McCurdy (Crofton, Md.) collected his school-record 96th base hit of the season in the fifth inning. The All-America candidate's sharp single to center field broke a tie with Derek Hacopian's 1992 hit total while providing yet another highlight to a record-breaking junior season.

William & Mary scored the game's first run on a Marshall Hubbard RBI single in the top of the first, but after a 30-minute delay in which play was stopped because of lightning, the Terps came right back to tie the game at 1-1 on an RBI single by sophomore third baseman Anthony Buffone (Manalapan, N.J.).

The Tribe took a 2-1 lead in the second inning, but junior shortstop Kyle George (Bel Air, Md.) led off the bottom of the frame with a single and freshman designated hitter Will Frazier (Mitchellville, Md.) followed one out later with a two-run homer high over the center field fence to give the Terps a 3-2 lead.

George's single extended his career-best hitting streak to 11 games.

William and Mary regained the lead in the third inning. After two runs had already scored, the Tribe's Ben Keeton hit a fly ball to right-center field that dropped in when Swope and freshman center fielder Justin Maxwell (Olney, Md.) collided on the play. The ball rolled past the fallen outfielders and Keeton circled the bases for a two-run, inside-the-park home run that put the Tribe up, 6-3.

Freshman first baseman Jason Maxey (Columbia, Md.) and the Terps answered in the bottom of the inning when the freshman All-America and ACC Rookie of the Year candidate lined his 17th home run of the season over the left-center field fence. Maxey extended his career-high hitting streak to 14 games while homering for the sixth time in eight games.

After McDonald's fourth-inning homer tied the game at 6-6, William and Mary went ahead again with single runs in the sixth and seventh. Buffone recorded his second run-scoring single of the game in the seventh to pull the Terps within 8-7 and set the stage for Swope's heroics in the next inning.

After junior right-hander Derek Hoffman (Hagerstown, Md.) retired the side in order in the top of the eighth, McDonald led off the bottom of the inning with a walk. After two outs, Whitmer singled McDonald to third.

The Tribe brought in hard-throwing closer Chris Ray to face Swope and quickly fell behind the Terps' all-time career hits, runs, doubles and total bases leader. Swope then sent Ray's 2-1 offering soaring over the center field fence to give the Terps their game-winning 10-8 margin.

Beck entered in the ninth. After a leadoff walk, he struck out Matt Kirby looking before getting C.J. Stimson to ground into the game-ending double play.

Hoffman gained the victory for the Terps and improved to 4-0 on the season. Ray suffered the loss for the Tribe and is now 3-3.

Their regular season completed with a record of 34-22, the Terps return to action at the May 21-26 ACC Baseball Championship in St. Petersburg, Fla.