April 15, 2008

Box Score

BALTIMORE - The University of Maryland baseball team broke the school record for consecutive non-conference victories with 12, winning 15-2 at UMBC Tuesday evening. The Terps twice scored six runs in an inning, led by a 3-for-3 performance by senior Chad Durakis and a grand slam by sophomore AJ Casario.

The game was scoreless through three full innings, but the Terps (21-17) figured out UMBC starter David Divita in the top of the fourth.

Jensen Pupa (Germantown, Md./Northwest) led off with a single and was followed by a Mike Murphy (Silver Spring, Md./Georgetown Prep) single, putting two runners on base with no outs. Durakis (Cockeysville, Md./St. Paul's) put the Terps on the board with an RBI double down the left-field line, making it 1-0 Terps with still no outs.

After a walk to load the bases, center fielder Nick Jowers (Beltsville, Md./DeMatha Catholic) hit a potential double-play ball to third base. However, the Terps caught a break when third baseman's Steve Russo's throw home was in the dirt, allowing Murphy to score the second run of the inning.

With the bases loaded and still no outs, Casario (Pine Hill, N.J./Overbrook) cleared the bases with a grand slam to left-center field to make it 6-0 Maryland. It was Casario's fifth homer of the season and the second grand slam by a Terp this season. Steve Braun (Granada Hills, Calif./Pierce CC) hit a grand slam against Hofstra earlier this year.

The Retrievers (10-20) got two runs back in the bottom of the fourth on a Brad Brainer RBI double.

Durakis hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth off reliever Travis Pierson, his fourth of the season.

Up 7-2 entering the sixth, the Terps put the game away with their second six-run inning of the game.

Braun drove in the first two runs of the inning on an RBI double down the left-field line. Murphy drove in a run with a single. Durakis drive in one with an RBI single and Dan Benick (Glen Lyon, Pa./Nanticoke) added an RBI double. Jowers completed the scoring with an RBI groundout.

Murphy added his second RBI single and third single of the game in the top of the seventh.

The Terps added one more run in the top of the ninth when Benick was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Freshman Brett Harman (Westminster, Md./Westminster) started on the mound and earned his first career win, allowing two earned runs on three hits in four innings of work. Divita took the loss for the Retrievers, allowing six runs on six hits in four innings.

Braun, Murphy and Durakis each had three hits for the Terps.

Durakis was hit by a pitch for the 10th time this season in the second inning. Durakis has now been hit 44 times in his career, two shy of the top 20 in NCAA history. Durakis has been hit at least 10 times all four seasons at Maryland.

The start of the game was delayed approximately 30 minutes due to problems with the lights at The Baseball Factory Field at UMBC.

Maryland will look to extend its record non-conference winning streak at 7 p.m. Wednesday when UMES comes to Shipley Field.

-TERPS-