May 10, 2011
Box Score | Season Stats (PDF)
LIKE! Maryland Athletics on Facebook
NEWARK, Del. -
Maryland starting pitcher Chuck Ghysels struck out a career-high eight batters in six innings while holding Delaware to one run, first baseman Curtis Lazar went 3-for-5 with two RBI and the Terrapins survived a late rally by the Blue Hens for a 7-6 victory Tuesday afternoon.
Right fielder Jordan Hagel had three hits and a RBI, while center fielder Korey Wacker and catcher Aaron Etchison chipped in two hits apiece. The Terrapins also stole a season-high eight bases, led by Hagel's three. Wacker and second baseman Ryan Holland both swiped two bags.
For Ghysels, who scattered seven hits and walked three, Tuesday's performance marked his second straight quality start. The junior right-hander also allowed just one run in seven innings on April 27 against George Mason, leading the Terps to a 6-1 win.
The win lifted Maryland (21-32), which now breaks for finals before playing host to conference foe Wake Forest on May 19-21, to a 16-10 non-conference record. It also completed a season sweep of Delaware; the Terps won the earlier meeting 8-0 on March 8 in College Park.
It didn't come easy, however, as Maryland had to survive a late rally. The Blue Hens trailed 6-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth, but tacked on three runs in that inning to make it 6-4. The difference in the game proved to be a sacrifice fly by third baseman Jake Stinnett that scored pinch runner Kyle Convissar in the top of the ninth.
Trailing 7-4 in the bottom of the ninth, Delaware (26-23) closed the gap after two singles and a fielding error by Maryland allowed a run to score and prolonged the inning. A run-scoring sacrifice fly by Delaware's Dave Anderson made it 7-6, and a single by Aaron Mascoe put runners on first and second with two outs.
Stinnett, who moved from third base to the mound with one down in the ninth, ended the game by getting pinch-hitter Alex Mottle to ground out to first base.
Before Delaware's comeback, Maryland had built a seemingly comfortable lead with three runs in the fourth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh, with Ghysels holding the Blue Hens to just one run in the third.
Holland singled and later scored on a Delaware error in the fourth, while Lazar and Hagel had run-scoring singles in the inning.
In the sixth, a single by Lazar combined with two Blue Hen errors set the table for a pair of runs. With runners on second and third, Stinnett drove in a run on a groundout to second base and Wacker later brought in a run with an infield single.
Lazar recorded his third hit of the day in the seventh inning - driving in Alex Ramsay in the process - to make it 6-1 Maryland.
Ghysels (3-4) was credited with the win, while Delaware's Eric Buckland (2-1) took the loss. Buckland logged 5 1/3 innings and surrendered five runs, none of them earned, on five hits.
