Feb. 9, 2007

Box Score

ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Maryland baseball team could not hold off a late Winthrop charge as they fell to the Eagles, 7-5, this afternoon in the Terps' season opener, the second game of the 2007 Winthrop Challenge. Steve Braun scored twice while going 2-for-3 at the plate as he paced the Terps' offense to an eighth-inning lead, but the Eagles responded with three runs in the eighth to seal the final margin. Winthrop improves to 2-2 on the season, while the Terps drop to 0-1. Winthrop's Ryan Mullins (1-1) picks up his first win of the season, while Maryland's Brett Cecil takes the loss after entering in the bottom of the eighth with a chance to break the school's career saves record. Jonathan Settle earned his second save of the season.

Maryland opened the scoring with a Mike Murphy single to right field in the third inning, which brought Braun home after he advanced on a single, a stolen base, and a passed ball. Senior lefthander Casey Baron started the game for Maryland, and maintained the lead after a perfect third, his second perfect inning of the game at that point.

However, after a scoreless Maryland fourth, Winthrop took control of the lead as Mike Honce drove three runs in with his home run over the left field wall in the fourth. Baron recovered from the blast and pitched one more inning, leaving after the fifth inning with the Terps' trailing, 3-2, after another passed ball scored Braun again from third in the top-half of the inning. Baron ended a potential threat when, with two outs, he got shortstop Kevin Nolan to fly out to center field, stranding a runner at third.

Junior righthander Mike Sufczynski entered in the sixth and pitched two solid innings of relief, holding the Eagles to one run on one hit. In the eighth, the Terps' bats came alive as three runs crossed the plate. After sophomore Dan Benick doubled and advanced on a passed ball, pinch hitter Wink Nolan drove home the tying run with a single up the middle. Following a fly out to left by Braun, Maryland scored once again as junior Nick Jowers doubled and advanced to third on a fielding error in left field, scoring Nolan from second. The Terps boasted a 5-3 lead in the inning when leadoff hitter Joe Palumbo singled to center field, scoring Jowers.

Following a fly out to end the inning, Cecil entered the game seeking his record-breaking 16th career save, as the preseason All-American had notched 13 in 2006. Cecil, though, could not shut the door, as he allowed four runs in the eighth inning, giving Winthrop a 7-5 advantage. Settle struck out the side in the ninth inning, denying the Terps their first win in a season opener since 2001.

Maryland will try to bounce back tomorrow as they take on Gardner-Webb, who fell to Creighton, 4-3, in the first game of the day. Game time for Saturday is set for 4:30 p.m. at the Winthrop Ballpark.