April 24, 2012

Final Stats | Season Stats (PDF)

TOWSON, Md. - K.J. Hockaday and Kyle Convissar had three hits apiece and Maryland used a balanced offensive attack to defeat Towson 9-1 Tuesday afternoon.

Nine Terrapins had at least one hit in the game, and Maryland (26-17) scored single runs in each of the first three innings before breaking through with a four-run fifth.

Pitchers Brady Kirkpatrick and Charlie Haslup combined for seven innings, with both working out of trouble on numerous occasions. Those two stranded a total of 15 Towson runners, a season-high for the Tigers (20-21).

Maryland's small-ball approach provided early support, and Kirkpatrick and Haslup got outs when they needed them.

With runners on the corners and two outs in the first, the Terps executed a half-steal in which Hockaday broke for second and then stopped, with Tomo Delp taking off for home after Towson catcher Andrew Parker threw to second.

An inning later, Convissar led off the inning with a single, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, stole third and scored on a perfectly executed squeeze bunt by Korey Wacker.

The Terps made it 3-0 when Alfredo Rodriguez led off the third with a double down the left-field line and scored two batters later on a single through the left side by Delp.

Maryland's breakthrough inning came in the fifth, when it scored four runs on six hits. Doubles by Jordan Hagel and Hockaday scored one run, but Hockaday was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple for the second out of the inning. The Terps were then able to string together four straight hits, including a two-run single by Michael Montville and a RBI-single by Wacker to make it 7-1.

Kirkpatrick, meanwhile, worked out of trouble in each of the first three innings. The sophomore stranded two runners in the first, three in the second and two more in the third. After Towson loaded the bases again in the fourth, Haslup entered the game and got out of the inning after surrendering just one run.

Haslup stranded three runners again in the fifth, and good defensive plays in the outfield ended the sixth and seventh. With two on and two out in the sixth, Hagel made a sprinting catch - slamming into the right-field wall afterwards - to end the inning. In the seventh, Wacker turned a double play by catching a line drive and throwing a runner out at home for his team-high ninth outfield assist of the year.

Delp was the third Terp with a multiple-hit day, finishing 2-for-4 with a run and a RBI to extend his reached-base streak to 23 games. Freshman Matt Bosse hit a two-run, pinch-hit home run in the ninth, the first of his career.

Haslup (4-4), who pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings, earned the win. Towson starter Nick Cioffi (1-2) took the loss after surrendering three runs on five hits in three innings.

Left-hander Jamie Pashuck and righty Jake Stinnett worked 1-2-3 innings in the eighth and ninth, respectively, to give the Maryland bullpen 5 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Maryland will go for the season sweep of the Tigers Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium.

Follow Maryland Baseball on Twitter