Maryland Overcomes NC State Baseball, 16-12

Thursday, May 2

College Park, Md.

7:00 PM

NC State

26-22, 0

Maryland

30-19, 0

NC State

Maryland

5/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

May 2, 2002

Box Score

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Daryl Whitmer tied a career high with four hits and drove in a career-high five runs, and Maryland overcame deficits of 5-1 and 11-5 to hand NC State a 16-12 defeat in Atlantic Coast Conference baseball action Thursday night at Shipley Field.

The Terps improved to 30-19 overall and 4-15 in the ACC. NC State fell to 26-22 and 4-15. Reliever Josh Andrews (2-0) picked up the win with 6 1/3 innings of sterling relief. He allowed one run on just three hits. He walked one and struck out five. NC State reliever Nate Cretarolo (2-2) took the loss after allowing four runs on two hits and four walks in 1 1/3 innings. Cretarolo was hardly alone for the Wolfpack pitching staff, which issued 10 walks, allowed 16 hits and did not retire the side in order in any inning.

The Terps took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a leadoff double by Whitmer and groundouts by Matt Swope and John McCurdy, with McCurdy's grounder driving in the run.

The Wolfpack answered with a two-out eruption in the top of the second. Marc Maynor got it started with a two-out walk, and Adam Hargrave ripped a bullet that caused Terps center fielder Justin Maxwell to slip and fall on the wet turf while trying to field the ball on a hop. The ball went all the way to the wall and Hargrave wound up with an RBI-triple. Chad Orvella hit a double off the wall in right to drive in Hargrave, and second baseman Joe Sargent threw away Jeremy Dutton's grounder for an error that really opened up the floodgates. Orvella scored on the error, and after Brian Wright walked, Justin Riley and David Hicks followed with RBI-singles to lift NC State to a 5-1 lead.

The lead did not last long. Anthony Buffone led off the bottom of the second with a single to center field, and Kevin McDonald rolled a single up the middle to put runners on first and second with none out. Kyle George sacrificed the runners to second and third, but Davidson retired Sargent on strikes to bring up Justin Maxwell, the ninth hitter in the order. Maxwell worked Davidson for a critical walk to load the bases, and Whitmer cleared them with a three-run double to right-center. Swope tied the game at 5-5 with an RBI-single through the right side of the infield.

Colt Morton led off the top of the third and broke the tie with a towering tape-measure home run off the roof of the Varsity Team House, which sits behind the left-field fence, and the Wolfpack didn't stop there. Maynor walked and Hargrave singled to center. Orvella grounded to third to advance both runners, and Sargent again misplayed a Dutton grounder for an error, allowing both runners to score and make it 8-5. One out later, Riley dropped a single into center field, and David Hicks followed with his fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot to right-center that upped the Wolfpack lead to 11-5.

Maryland scored 10 unanswered runs from that point, starting in the bottom of the third. Maxey walked with one out and Buffone doubled to right-center. McDonald walked to load the bases, and George walked to drive in a run and make it 11-6. Davidson, fighting for his control, went to a 3-1 count on Sargent before battling back to strike him out, and then got out of the inning by fanning Maxwell swinging on three pitches.

The Terps continued their comeback in the bottom of the fourth. Swope drew a one-out walk and McCurdy singled to center field, setting the stage for Maxey, who pulled a high fly down the right-field line, just inside the foul pole for a three-run homer, pulling the Terps to within two runs at 11-9. Buffone bunted and reached when Davidson's throw hit the runner in the back for an error.

Nate Cretarolo relieved Davidson at that point and walked McDonald, but Maynor made a brilliant diving catch in right-center to rob George of extra bases, and Cretarolo made a nice stop on pinch-hitter Ray Gemmil's come-backer to the mound to retire the side.

The Terrapins took the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Maxwell and Whitmer walked to lead off the inning, and Swope was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Buffone then lined a double into the left-field corner, clearing the bases and giving the Terps a 13-11 lead. Buffone took third on the throw to the plate. Brian Ross came in to pitch for NC State and got out of the inning by picking George off first base, with the out recorded on Buffone at the plate.

Maxwell walked with one away in the bottom of the sixth, and Whitmer made it 15-11 with a two-run bomb to center field. Brian Wright's leadoff home run in the top of the eighth cut the lead to three at 15-12, Whitmer reached on a one-out single in the bottom of the inning, went all the way to third on a single by Swope and a Wolfpack error, and scored on McCurdy's single to left to give the Terrapins a 16-12 lead.

While the Terps were scoring in every inning but the seventh, Andrews was stopping the Wolfpack cold, retiring 19 of the 23 men he faced, including 11 in a row through the top of the seventh inning. Wright's homer broke that string in the eighth, but Andrews recovered and set down six of the final seven men he faced to close out the victory..

The series will continue on Friday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WKNC, 88.1 FM, and can be heard over the internet on www.gopack.com.