Terps sweep GW

FROM MARYLAND MEDIA RELATIONS

The Maryland baseball team earned its first series sweep of the season Saturday as it defeated George Washington, 11-4 and 6-4, in a non-conference doubleheader at Shipley Field.

Maryland improved to 7-2 with the win, its best start in five seasons. The Colonials fell to 0-6 as they could not withstand two late scoring surges by the Terrapins in each game. Juniors Ryan Moorer (2-0) and Brett Cecil (2-1) earned wins for Maryland, while Brian Frazier (0-2) and Scott Swinson (0-2) took the losses for GW.

In the early game, Maryland broke open a 5-3 contest with a six-run eighth inning, highlighted by sophomore Joe Palumbo's first career grand slam. Palumbo had two of the Terps' 13 hits in the game and also scored a pair of runs in the game.

Sophomore Gerry Spessard and junior Chad Durakis helped the Terps jump out to an early 4-1 lead. Spessard hit an RBI single in the first and a sacrifice fly in the third, while Durakis, who was 3-for-3, notched an RBI single in the first and a run-scoring double two innings later.

The score stayed the same until the seventh inning, as Moorer held the Colonials at bay through six innings, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out three batters. In the seventh, GW closed the gap to 5-3 as Michael Parker drove in two with a single through the middle.

Maryland responded with a run in the seventh, as Palumbo scored from third on a wild pitch. The Bowie, Md., native crossed the plate again in the eighth inning, but not before clearing the bases with his grand slam to right field, which gave the Terps an 9-3 lead. Maryland added two more in the inning on Durakis' third and fourth RBIs of the game.

Frazier, one of six Colonial pitchers used in the opener, surrendered two earned runs on seven hits, while striking out three.

In the second game of the doubleheader, a contest originally scheduled for Sunday but moved up due to weather, Maryland fought back from an early four-run deficit. The Terps were held hitless through four innings by Colonials starter Derek Haese, but rebounded with six unanswered runs to take the series sweep.

Down 4-0 in the fifth inning, Palumbo and sophomore Wink Nolan each hit RBI singles. Junior Kevin Biringer, who relieved starter Nick Pearce in the fourth, pitched three shutout innings, allowing just one hit and striking out six, a career high.

Cecil entered the contest in the seventh inning and nearly matched Biringer's feat, as he allowed two hits in three innings of work to earn his second win in as many days. Maryland posted four runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 6-4 lead. Mike Murphy drove in the first run with an RBI single, while senior Dan Melvin's had a two-RBI double. Spessard's second sacrifice fly of the day to put final run on the board.

The Terps hit the road for their first mid-week contest of the season Tuesday as they face James Madison. First pitch from Harrisonburg, Va., is set for 3 p.m.