April 29, 2009
Box Score
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -
Picking up where it left off in Tuesday's 17-run performance against James Madison, the University of Maryland baseball team scored eight runs in the first three innings Wednesday at West Virginia before holding off a couple late Mountaineer rallies to post an 8-7 road victory at Hawley Field.
The win gave the Terrapins (22-24) their eighth straight midweek victory of the season.
The Terps scored a pair of runs in the opening frame to stake starting pitcher Sander Beck to an early 2-0 lead. Leadoff batter Jensen Pupa walked and stole second base, advancing to third on a throwing error by catcher Tobias Streich. Third baseman Mike Murphy brought Pupa home with an infield single to third and came around to score on a two-out single to center field by first baseman Will Greenberg.
The Mountaineers (29-13) tied the game off Beck in the bottom of the first. Jedd Gyorko drove in a run with a double and Vince Belnome played Gyorko with a single.
Maryland catcher Tyler Bennett got a run right back in the top of the second, blasting a solo home run to left-center off West Virginia starting pitcher Stephen Morrison. It was Bennett's fourth homer of the season and his second in as many games.
A Colin Durborow RBI single tied the game again in the bottom of the second, but the Terps took the lead for good in the third.
With the bases loaded and one out, center fielder Dan Benick emptied the bases with a three-run double down the left-field line, scoring Murphy, David Poutier and Bennett. Shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez brought Benick home with an infield single and right fielder A.J. Casario drove in the fifth run of the inning with an RBI single of his own.
The Terps held onto the 8-3 lead for two innings before the Mountaineers got back into the game in the fifth. Right fielder Grant Buckner delivered a three-run home run off Maryland reliever Brett Harman to cut the deficit to two.
Gyorko added a solo shot in the sixth to make it a one-run ballgame, 8-7.
The Mountaineers put the tying run in scoring position in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, but the Maryland bullpen continually denied the Mountaineers the equalizing score.
Consecutive singles with one out in the bottom of the eighth forced Maryland pitching coach Jim Farr to bring in closer Dan Gentzler, who earned a two-inning save Tuesday against James Madison.
Gentzler induced a fly-out on his first pitch of the inning, but then plunked Streich to load the bases and put the go-ahead run in scoring position. However, Gentzler escaped the jam on a Buckner ground-out to short.
Still leading 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth, Gentzler allowed a leadoff single to Joe Agreste. Pinch runner Mark Dvoroznak was sacrificed to second, giving the Mountaineers two cracks at Gentzler tie or win the game. Justin Parks nearly tied the game at 8, but his hard-hit line drive found the glove of Rodriguez at short for the second out.
Austin Markel stepped into the batter's box representing the winning run with the tying score in scoring position at second. Markel got ahead in the count, 2-0, but Gentzler buckled down and got Markel to fly out to left fielder Mike Rozak for the final out of the ballgame.
Beck earned his first career victory with three innings pitched in his second start of the year, improving to 1-0. Morrison took the loss, falling to 0-1. Morrison allowed eight runs, seven earned, and walked five batters in 2 1/3 innings on six Maryland hits. Andy Altemus pitched six scoreless innings of relief to keep the Mountaineers in the game.
Gentzler earned his fifth save of the season and second in as many games.
The Terps have two days off before beginning a three-game series Saturday at Clemson, Maryland's final Atlantic Coast Conference road trip of the season.
-TERPS-
