Maryland
at Virginia*
Virginia Completes Sweep Of Maryland Baseball With 5-2 Win
3/20/2005 7:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 20, 2005
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. - Maryland got on the board late, but 13 Virginia hits and five scoring innings were too much to overcome, as the Cavaliers closed out a three-game sweep with a 5-2 Sunday win. The Terps fell to 10-10 overall on the season and 3-6 in conference play, and will return to College Park for the start of a seven-game home stand on Tuesday at 3 p.m. against Duquesne.
Truan Mehl and Nick Jowers were both bright spots for the Terps, as they combined for four of the team's seven hits. Mehl doubled and singled on the day, and worked three full counts, and Jowers drove in the Terps' only runs of the game with two-out double in the ninth inning. Chad Durakis, Will Frazier and Dan Melvin all chipped in with base hits, and freshman Ryan Moorer was solid in the longest appearance (4.1 innings) of his career.
After Moorer worked out of a first-inning jam, Virginia put fup runs in the second and third innings to jump out to an early 2-0 lead. Virginia catcher Scott Headd led the second inning off with a double down the right field line, and Patrick Wingfield and Mike Campagna each followed with infield singles. Campagna's bunt single clung to the third base line and hit the base in fair territory to load the bases with no outs. Moorer induced a groundball double play that scored the run from third, and worked his way out of a potential big inning with a groundball out to first baseman Elliot Singletary.
In the second, Virginia third baseman Ryan Zimmerman reached on a fielding error and moved into scoring position on a hit-and-run groundout. With two outs, Brandon Guyer lined into center field to give the Cavaliers a 2-0 lead.
Virginia put another run across in the bottom of the fifth inning and got into the Maryland bullpen. After a pair of one-out base hits left runners on second and third, freshman left-hander Brett Cecil relieved Ryan Moorer. Cecil's first batter, Scott Headd grounded out to shortstop Dan Melvin, allowing the run to score from third base. Cecil induced another groundout to end the inning, limiting the damage to one run and a 3-0 deficit through five.
Moorer finished the game with 4.1 innings pitched, eight hits, two earned runs and his first career strikeout. His eight hits allowed included two infield singles, a bunt single and a flare double just out of the reach of a diving Truan Mehl. He spotted a tailing fastball well and threw 36 of 55 pitches in the longest outing of his career.
Virginia added runs in the seventh and eighth innings, turning a leadoff double and triple into scores. Matt Street hit a ground-rule double down the right field line to start the seventh, and Ryan Zimmerman brought him around with a single through the right side of the infield. In the eighth, the Cavaliers' converted a Patrick Wingfield triple into a 5-0 lead.
In the top of the ninth, the Terp offense finally broke through, touching up Virginia closer Casey Lambert for his first runs of the season. Will Frazier led off the inning with an opposite-field single down the right field line, and Chad Durakis drove a single up the middle to put runners on first and second. After a Jason Von Behren strikeout, freshman Nick Jowers ripped a first-pitch double off the left field wall to score both Frazier and Durakis. Jowers' second hit of the game and first career RBI brought the score to 5-2, but Lambert retired second baseman Joe Palumbo to close out the game and the series.
Virginia, winners of its last nine games, finished the sweep of a series of close games, and Maryland dropped its fifth straight conference game and fourth straight overall. The Terps will look to stop their slide this week when they open a seven-game home stand. Duquesne will come to College Park for a doubleheader on Tuesday at 3 p.m., and Clemson will come to town for a three-game set this weekend (March 25-27).
