April 2, 2005

Final Stats

ATLANTA, Ga. - Maryland baseball dropped its series opener to top-ranked Georgia Tech Saturday afternoon by a score of 13-8. The Terps were down 13-4 when the game was suspended in the top of the fifth inning on Friday night, but made the game close on Saturday with four unanswered runs and four hitless innings by Brett Tidball. Tidball hit the first batter he faced, then retired 12 straight Yellow Jacket hitters in the most effective outing of his young career.

Picking up Friday night's suspended game, Chad Durakis led the Terrapin offense off in the top of the fifth inning with Jordan Wilson on second base and Will Frazier on first. Durakis was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs, and Jason Von Behren grounded into a 6-3 double play that scored Wilson from third base.

Will Frazier plated two more runs for the Terps with a two-run double in the sixth inning, then scored on an RBI single the next at-bat. Dan Melvin singled to start the rally, and Jordan Wilson was hit by a Jared Hyatt pitch. Both scored on Frazier's double to left-center field, bringing the senior's season RBI total to 18.

Frazier doubled again in the eighth inning, bringing his season total to seven and becoming just the second Terp to hit 50 in his career. Frazier is now thee extra base hits and nine doubles shy of Maryland career records.

The two teams will play again tonight at 7 p.m. in the second of a three-game series, with junior Ben Pfinsgraff (3-1, 2.95 ERA) expected to face Georgia Tech's Lee Hyde (3-0, 6.06 ERA).

RECAPPING FRIDAY'S ACTION

Georgia Tech batted around in the bottom of the first inning to take a quick 4-0 lead in the game. Maryland starter Chris Clem retired the first two batters of the inning, but ran into trouble after a two-out single through the left side by Steven Blackwood started a string of six straight Georgia Tech hitters to reach base. Wes Hodges scored Blackwood with an RBI double, and Jeremy Slayden, Matt Wieters and Whit Robbins each followed with groundball RBI singles to give Tech a 4-0 lead after one inning.

The Terps responded in the top of the second, touching up Georgia Tech starter Jason Neighborgall for five hits and three runs in the inning. Jordan Wilson led things off with a walk, Will Frazier walked and Chad Durakis singled through the right side to load the bases. Bobby Ryan and Nick Jowers both drove in runs with RBI singles through the right side of the infield, and Elliot Singletary scored Durakis from third with a sacrifice fly to right field.

Clem retired Tech in order in the second, but the Yellow Jackets came back with a five-hit, three-run inning in the third to get back out to a four-run lead. A two-run single by Matt Wieters started the scoring, and a bases loaded walk by Steven Blackwood scored Tech's seventh run of the game.

Dan Melvin got the Terps on the board again in the fourth with an RBI single, but Georgia Tech put up six runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 13-4 lead.

Jordan Wilson and Will Frazier both walked to lead off the top of the fifth, before umpires cleared the field at 8:56 p.m. After nearly two hours of a delay, the game was officially suspended just before 11:00 p.m.