Maryland
Clemson
Terps Stun No. 15 Clemson
4/19/2003 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 19, 2003
College Park, Md. - The Maryland Terrapins (14-22, 2-11 ACC) won their first two Atlantic Coast Conference games of the season in dramatic fashion today, handing the No. 15 Clemson Tigers (26-12, 4-7 ACC) two defeats in front of the largest crowd at Shipley Field this season.
The two wins marked the first time Maryland defeated Clemson since 1997. It was also the Terps' second and third wins against a ranked opponent this season, the other coming on Feb. 15 when Terps beat then-No. 18 Stetson.
Maryland roared back from an early 6-0 deficit in the opening innings of the first game behind the strong pitching of sophomore Chris Clem (3-5), who gave up no earned runs in six innings of work in one of the Terps' wildest games of the season.
For the third time this season, Maryland hammered one of the ACC's top starters, cranking out six hits and four runs off of sophomore Tyler Lumsden (7-0). Lumsden, who came into the game with a 2.30 earned run average, gave way to reliever Paul Harrelson (1-1) who took the loss after giving up four hits and three runs in just a third of an inning.
Sophomore Joe Sargent (Chesapeake Beach, Md.) was the unlikely hero for the Terps, driving in the game winning run after committing three errors that led to Clemson runs.
Senior Steve Schmoll (Rockville, Md.), scheduled to start Sunday, came on in the eighth inning for his second save of the season. Schmoll struck out five batters, moving into sole possession of second place in strikeouts in Maryland history. His arm still fresh, Schmoll started the second game and went six innings, allowing no earned runs and striking out six more Clemson hitters.
After Schmoll exited with the game tied 1-1, the bullpen allowed three runs in the top of the seventh, two of which were scored on "suicide squeeze" bunts.
But the Maryland offense once again came through late, putting up six runs in the bottom of the seventh with the aid of six straight batters reaching base, including three bases-loaded walks. The six runs were the most the Terps have scored in an inning this season.
After giving up the go-ahead runs, reliever Chris Bowen (3-2) held on for 2.1 innings as the bats rallied back. Sophomore Brooks Norris (Baltimore, Md.) picked up his second save of the year.
Continuing his hot ACC hitting was sophomore Justin Maxwell (Olney, Md.), who went 3-for-5 in the first game with a home run and four runs batted in. Maxwell has played his best baseball this season against conference foes.
Senior shortstop Kyle George (Bel Air, Md.) continued to scald the baseball, going 3-for-4 in the first game and slamming his first home run since March 12 in the second, while fellow senior Ray Gemmill (Silver Spring, Md.) went 6-for-9 on the day with a home run and two runs batted in. Sophomore Brian Jarosinski (Olney, Md.) collected five hits and two runs batted in as well.
Clemson received scares in both the first and sixth innings of the first game when players went down with injuries. In the first, left fielder Jeff Hourigan made a spectacular catch after colliding with center fielder Kyle Frank. Hourigan remained down for several minutes but stayed in the game.
Then, in the middle of the sixth, catcher Steve Pyzik was apparently struck in the throat by a Lumsden warm-up pitch. He was removed on a stretcher and taken to a hospital for precautionary reasons.
The Terps will attempt to sweep the series tomorrow at 1 p.m. Sean Kane and Stephen Jackson are the probable starters.
