May 7, 2004

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of Maryland baseball team fell to No. 15 University of North Carolina on Friday at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., by a score of 11-9. Maryland was unable to hold onto a one run lead in the eighth inning.

Maryland (19-28, 3-16 ACC) put up good offensive numbers against the Tar Heels (33-11, 12-7 ACC), with nine runs off of 16 hits. The Terps took a one-run lead into the bottom of the ninth inning, but North Carolina was able to score three runs to earn the 11-9 victory.

The Terrapins' bats came to life early with Maryland bringing in two runs in the first. Sophomore Matt Maropis led off the inning with a single up the middle and came around to score when junior Will Frazier doubled down the left field line. Two batters later, junior Jason Maxey knocked in Frazier with a double to right field, giving the Terps an early 2-0 lead.

After North Carolina scored four runs, including two on Jonathan Hovis' home run, the Terrapins evened the score up with two runs of their own in the third inning. Maxey brought in junior Kevin Hart, who singled in the inning, with a single into right field. Later in the inning, junior Truan Mehl brought Maxey in to score with a double down the left field line.

The Terrapins loaded the bases in the fourth and junior Bobby Ryan, who singled to lead of the inning, came in to score the Terps' first run when Hart was hit by a pitch. Three more Maryland runners came in to score later in the inning when North Carolina's left fielder dropped a fly ball, giving the Terrapins an 8-4 lead.

The Tar Heels battled back with three runs in the fifth inning, cutting the Terps' lead to one run. Maryland got one run back when Maropis scored in the sixth inning on a Frazier single to center field. Maropis had singled to lead off the inning. North Carolina then rallied back in the eighth inning to score three runs to take an 11-9 lead.

Maxey led the Terps offensively in the game with a 4-for-5 performance at the plate, knocking in two runs and scoring another. Maropis came across the plate three times while going 3-for-5 at the plate. Frazier, Mehl and sophomore Brian Jarosinski each picked up a pair of hits in the loss.

The Terps will meet up with North Carolina again tomorrow for the second game of a three-game series. The game will be played at 1 p.m. at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill and will be televised live by Comcast SportsNet as part of the ACC Game of the Week package.