Terp Baseball Travels To Charleston, S.C., For The Charleston Challenge

Feb. 24, 2005

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TERPS AT THE CHARLESTON CHALLENGE

Coming off a 2-1 weekend and a 3-2 start to their 2005 season, the Terps head to Charleston, S.C., for the Charleston Challenge. The team will play Friday against Le Moyne College, Saturday against Towson and Sunday against host College of Charleston.

Audio broadcasts are back for the three-game weekend, with links available on www.umterps.com and www.broadcastmonsters.com. Live stats will also be available for each of the three games by logging on to the www.umterps.com baseball site.

Information can now be submitted to join an online newsletter mailing list. Titled "The Maryland Baseball Bulletin", the newsletter is sent to you each time new information is posted to the Maryland website. This includes weekend previews, game recaps, feature stories and more.

CATCH Will Frazier ON WMAL 1090-AM AND 630-AM NEXT WEEK

Senior outfielder Will Frazier will be featured in an interview with Terp broadcaster Johnny Holliday on Saturday, March 5 at halftime of the men's basketball game at Virginia Tech. The game will tip off at 9 p.m., with Terp baseball taking on the Hokies earlier in the day (1 p.m. at Shipley Field).

Frazier is hitting .250 over the first five games of 2005, with his bat showing signs of life of late. Last season, Frazier got off to a .240 start through six games, but raised his average to over .350 five games later and stayed there for 180 of his next 181 at-bats. With Justin Maxwell (.941 slugging %), Jordan Wilson (9 RBI in 16 at-bats) and Dan Melvin (.400 average) all hitting well in the middle of the lineup, Frazier should keep getting opportunities to produce throughout 2005.

PREVIEWING LE MOYNE

All-Time Series: LeMoyne leads 1-0.
2004 Record: 36-21, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions (24-3 conference record).
2005 Record: 1-2.
Preseason Honors: Preseason conference champion ... Five All-MAAC selections: 1B Keith Connors, 2B Mike Affronti, 3B Andre Enriquez and OF Aaron Bulkley and RHP Al Drechsler.

In three games against No. 24 Central Florida, five Le Moyne batters drove in at least three runs, but UCF used 24 walks and a .452 on-base percentage to score 26 runs and win the series, 2 games to 1.

Third baseman/closer Andre Enriquez and senior right-hander Al Drechsler are two Dolphins to watch this weekend. Enriquez was named the preseason MAAC player of the year by Baseball America and the conference's coaches, Drechsler led the conference with 10 wins, while posting a 3.24 ERA and just one loss.

PREVIEWING TOWSON

When: Saturday, Feb. 26 at 11 a.m.
All-Time Series: Maryland leads 28-22-2.
2004 Record: 17-35.
2005 Record: Season opener is Friday against Charleston.
Preseason Honors: Outfielder Adam Heffron was named to Baseball America's preseason All-Colonial Athletic Association team ... Heffron was also recognized as having the best outfield arm in the conference.

Towson returns 23 letterwinners from last year's team and was picked to finish eighth in the CAA this season. The meeting between the two teams in Charleston is one of three games the Terps and Tigers will play this year, with one being at a home, neutral and road site.

Adam Heffron leads a group of experienced Towson hitters this season, after hitting .359 and being named second-team all conference. Sophomore outfielder/DH Casper Wells and Jeremy Stifler also return after All-CAA 2004 seasons, and two-year starter Mark Chiccini will also contribute to a veteran Tiger lineup.

PREVIEWING CHARLESTON

All-Time Series: Maryland leads 1-0.
2004 Record: 47-16, 2004 Southern Conference champions.
2005 Record: 5-1.
Preseason/Regular Season Honors: Unanimous choice by conference coaches and Baseball America to win the Southern Conference ... Five preseason all conference choices: 3B Jess Easterling, OF Byron Barber, OF Brett Gardner, SP Ryan Edell and RP Brett Harker ... Baseball America, Southern Conference Best Tools honors: Byron Barber - Best Strike-Zone Discipline, Fastest Runner, Best Baserunner; Jess Easterling - Best Infield Arm; Brett Gardner - Best Defensive Outfielder, Best Outfield Arm.

The College of Charleston crept into the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association rankings this week, earning a No.35 ranking in the Feb. 21 poll. The Cougars return all of their top hitters from 2004, including three outfielders in Barber, Gardner and Phillip Coker that combined to hit .395 last season.

Starting pitchers Wes Braden, Ryan Edell and Nick Chigges have accounted for all of the Cougars' six starts this season, with each making two. All three have ERAs over 4.50 and have given up more hits than innings pitched. Junior reliever Brett Harker was listed by Baseball America as the team's top prospect and the conference's fifth-best prospect for the 2005 draft. In three appearances this season, he has thrown 3.1 innings and given up two hits and a run (2.70 ERA).

RECAPPING THE UNC WILMINGTON SERIES

Friday, Feb. 18 - Maryland 12, UNCW 8: The Terp offense broke out in a big way in Friday's series opener, scoring a season-high 12 runs on 19 hits to score a 12-8 win over UNCW. Jordan Wilson and Chad Durakis each had a career-high three RBI to lead a Maryland offense that had six players with two or more hits.

Just three of the Seahawks' eight runs were earned, with all of those coming in the bottom of the ninth inning. Senior reliever Justin Hulse threw well in relief, but was tagged with the three earned runs in an inning that started with a pop fly being lost in the lights for a double. Chris Clem lowered his ERA to 1.86 on the season, giving up no earned runs in 4.2 innings, and Casey Baron threw 1.2 innings of relief without giving up an earned run to pick up the win.

Saturday, Feb. 19 - Maryland 4, UNCW 2: Maryland's defense showed an ability to make the routine play and had its first errorless game of the 2005 season. Ben Pfinsgraff again shut down the opposing offense, scattering four hits over five innings to pick up the win. Brett Cecil again stole headlines after throwing four hitless and scoreless innings against the Seahawks. The freshman lefty struck out six batters, allowed just one walk and left an inherited runner in scoring position to pick up his second save of the season.

Jordan Wilson drove in his fourth and fifth runs of the series, driving a 2-1 offering from Seahawk starter Ronald Hill into deep right-center field to score two runs. The two runs gave the Terps a fourth-inning lead they wouldn't relinquish. With a third straight win, Maryland moved to 3-1 on the season - the program's best start since 1996.

Sunday, Feb. 20 - UNCW 11, Maryland 6: A strong Seahawk offense and a porous Maryland defense dug the Terps an early 4-0 deficit that they could not overcome in the series finale. Jordan Wilson extended both his hit streak and RBI streak to four games with a 2-for-3, 3 RBI effort and closed the series with a .667 average (8-for-12) and eight RBI.

Chris Bowen threw 4.1 strong innings of relief in his first appearance of the season, allowing one earned run on three hits. Ryan Moorer, Seth Overbey and Josh Andrews also saw their first game action of 2005, with Moorer being tagged with the loss.

WILSON HEATS UP IN WILMINGTON

With eight more RBI in three games at UNC Wilmington, first baseman Jordan Wilson brought his season RBI total to nine and surpassed his previous career total of seven runs batted in. The junior moved up to second in the conference with a 1.80 RBI/g average and is tied for second in the league with a .500 batting average.

Wilson is also looking more comfortable every day at first base, with more experience leading to better fundamentals, footwork and technique. His 6-foot-3 frame and long reach have given infielders an easy target on throws across the diamond, and he's shown a knack for digging balls out of the dirt.

HANDLE WITH CARE

Preseason All-America center fielder Justin Maxwell has given teams fits to start 2005. Through five games, Maxwell is second in the conference in slugging percentage (.941), third in total bases (3.20/g) and seventh in batting (.471 average). Opposing pitchers have yet to give Maxwell much to hit, opting to pitch to cleanup hitter Will Frazier. Maxwell has walked four times in five games, including two intentional walks.

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