Maryland
Georgia Tech
Terps Batter Bakker In 13-7 Loss
3/21/2003 7:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 21, 2003
Atlanta, Ga. - For the second time in a week, the Maryland Terrapins (5-13, 0-4 ACC) made one of the top pitchers in the nation look average, but still ended up with their sixth straight loss.
After chasing No. 14 Wake Forest's Kyle Sleeth last Friday, it was No. 2 Georgia Tech (18-2, 1-0 ACC) pitcher Kyle Bakker's turn to see what Maryland was all about. The 6-foot-9 Bakker lasted just 2.2 innings, allowing five earned runs on six hits.
But Maryland starter Chris Clem (1-3) struggled as well, allowing two-out rallies in the first and second as well as five of the six runs Georgia Tech put up in the bottom of the fourth inning. He allowed a run in each of the four innings that he started.
The Terps got on the board in the top of the first by taking advantage of Bakker's wildness - he threw two wild pitches and hit a batter - but left the bases loaded on a Justin Maxwell strikeout. The team is hitting 6-for-26 (.236) with the bases loaded this season.
They bounced back in the third by putting up four runs on four singles. Bobby Ryan (Damascus, Md.) snapped an 0-for-14 drought with the go-ahead RBI single to right, with Matt Maropis (Export, Pa.) adding an insurance run with his second RBI of the year.
But the lead, and the Terrapin's hopes, was short-lived as the Yellow Jackets strung together six runs in the bottom of the fourth on just three hits. Reliever Chris Goodman (2-1) limited the Terps to two runs in 5.1 innings to bail out Bakker and earn the win.
After the first-inning strikeout, Maxwell (Olney, Md.) continued to shred ACC pitching, going 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI. He went 7-for-11 with a home run, three doubles, two stolen bases and two RBI last weekend against Wake Forest, after hitting .225 with no doubles and three RBI in 16 ACC games last season.
Georgia Tech's 18 hits were a season-high, and marked the tenth time in 18 games that an opponent has collected more than 10 hits against the Terps. The 13 runs were fourth time opponent has scored 10 or more runs. Maryland is 3-13 when an opponent scores more than four runs.
Yellow Jacket outfielder Brandon Boggs achieved career highs with four hits and four RBI, while Eric Murton went 4-for-6 with two RBI.
NOTES: The six-game losing streak is Maryland's longest since a seven-game slide in 2001 that lasted from March 16 to March 27 and featured three-game sweeps by Clemson and Georgia Tech...Freshman Mike Costantino (Somerset, Mass.) went 2-4 and has hit safely in eight of the last nine games
