April 21, 2009
Box Score
COLLEGE PARK, MD – After spotting the host Maryland Terrapins a five-run lead, La Salle Baseball battled back to tie the game, but the home team took the non-conference contest, 6-5, Tuesday evening at Shipley Field.
Tony Negrin had a season-high four hits and scored a pair of runs, while John Malloy had two hits, scored twice and had three RBI.
The Terrapins put those five runs on the scoreboard in the second inning on four hits. A hit batsmen followed by a walk and a Gerry Spessard RBI single brought in the first.
Dan Benick drove another in with a sac fly for the frame’s first out, however, four of the next five batters reached base and after Will Greenberg doubled home AJ Casario, Maryland was up 5-0.
The Explorers battled back to knot the score at 5-all, thanks to a three-run fifth, a two-run seventh, and four scoreless innings pitched by reliever Christian Schulz.
Negrin started a two-out rally in the third with an infield single and moved to third on a pair of wild pitches. Jeff Flax followed with an RBI double to center and then scored on Malloy’s RBI single.
TJ Chism doubled down the right field line to drive in Malloy, which pulled La Salle to within a pair at 5-3.
Meanwhile, Schulz retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced – the only one he did not reached base on an error. In the bottom of the sixth, Jensen Pupa doubled with two out, but Schulz struck out his fourth Terrapin of the afternoon to finish off his day.
In the seventh, Negrin again reached on an infield single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After moving to third on a Flax grounder, Malloy smacked his sixth home run of the year to tie the game.
Maryland (19-21) took the 6-5 lead on a Mike Murphy solo home run to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning, his ninth of the year. But Cody Weiss retired six of the last seven batters – spanning a 59-minute rain delay – to keep the deficit to a run.
In the ninth, La Salle had the tying run on second base, but on Negrin’s fourth hit of the game – deep into the hole at short – the Explorer base runner was caught too far off second for the second out of the inning.
Ian Schwalenberg got the final out to register his second save of the season, while Kyle Blackwell picked up his first win of the year in a relief appearance, and Weiss suffered the loss.
La Salle (15-20) is back in action on the road Wednesday at Coppin State – first pitch is scheduled for 3 PM.
