April 26, 2005

Final Stats

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Maryland baseball jumped out early with runs in the first and second inning and held on for a 5-3 road win over James Madison on Tuesday afternoon. Mike Sufczynski won his fourth consecutive decision with seven scoreless innings, and Michael Meagher came on to save the Terps' 20th victory of the season.

Truan Mehl was the only Terrapin hitter with more than one hit, but eight different Terps hit safely to lead a balanced offensive attack. Six Terps drove in runs, and five more scored as the Terps improved to 20-24 on the season.

Maryland got on the board in the top half of the first inning, behind a pair of two-out singles by Truan Mehl and Will Frazier. Mehl took a Clay McKim offering opposite field through the left side of the infield and stole second base to put himself in scoring position. The next batter, Frazier, fell behind 0-2, but worked a full count and found a pitch to drive into left field. Mehl scored on Frazier's RBI single to give Maryland a 1-0 lead.

The Terps added two more runs in the second inning with three straight singles by Jordan Wilson, Jason Von Behren and Bobby Ryan. Wilson singled through the left side of the infield and moved up to third on a line drive single by Von Behren. Ryan lined a single through the left side to score Wilson and move Von Behren to third base. Von Behren scored on the next play, as Joe Palumbo grounded into a fielder's choice, giving the Terps a three-run lead through two innings.

Maryland starter Mike Sufczynski worked out of several jams to hold the Dukes scoreless over six innings. He worked out of a bases loaded jam in the fourth inning, picked off runners in the first and fifth and left nine runners on base. He walked three and allowed seven hits to win his fourth straight decision.

Maryland tacked on a run in the eighth inning on an RBI groundout by Brian Jarosinski. Matt Maropis reached on an error to lead off the inning and moved to third on a single by Truan Mehl. After Mehl stole second base, Jarosinski put the ball on the ground to the right side to score Maropis and give the Terps a 4-0 lead.

JMU cut into the lead in the bottom half of the eighth with a three-run home run by first baseman Dan Santobianco. Pinch hitter Matt Bristow and catcher Matt Sluder hit back-to-back singles off new Terrapin pitcher Josh Andrews, before Santobianco connected on a high home run just over the left field wall.

Maryland added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth to go up 6-3 heading into the Dukes' final at-bat. Matt Maropis hit an RBI single, and Truan Mehl hit a sacrifice fly to give the Terps a three-run cushion.

Michael Meagher closed out the game with a scoreless ninth for his team-leading third save of the season, rebounding from giving up his first earned runs of the season against Wake Forest over the weekend.

The Terps next head to Coral Gables, Fla. to take on Atlantic Coast Conference newcomer Miami in their final three road games of the season.