Baseball: Losing Streak Extended to Eight
April 18, 2006 10:55 PM | General
April 18, 2006
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| Stan Posluszny |
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – West Virginia’s losing streak is now at eight games. The tough-luck Mountaineers dropped a 10-8 decision at Maryland Tuesday night in College Park.
April has been a difficult month for West Virginia, once 25-4 after a doubleheader sweep of Coppin State on April 4 but has since endured three-game sweeps to both Rutgers and Connecticut, and a pair of mid-week losses at Ohio and at Maryland.
Tonight, four Mountaineer pitchers had a tough time getting Maryland hitters out, giving up 10 runs on 12 hits with five walks.
Reliever Marty Fagler (3-4) gets the loss, giving up a pair of runs in Maryland’s two-run eighth to snap an 8-all tie. Mike Murphy led off the eighth with a double off the scoreboard in left, and moved to third when Justin Jenkins couldn't handle Fagler's throw on Wink Nolan’s sacrifice bunt attempt. Murphy was gunned down at the plate on a failed suicide squeeze try by Joe Palumbo, but a Nick Jowers double to left drove in Nolan and knocked Fagler out of the game.
Trent Ridgley intentionally walked Matt Maropis to load the bases, and after an infield fly out by Dan Melvin, Ridgley walked Jason Von Behren on four pitches for the 10th run of the game.
Tyler Kuhn got a two-out single in the top of the ninth for WVU, but he was left standing at second base when Maryland closer Brett Cecil got Justin Parks on strikes to end the game.
West Virginia (25-12) wasted a 14-hit effort. Stan Posluszny was 3 for 4 with a pair of RBIs, while Doug Nelms 3 for 5 with two RBIs. Jenkins added two hits.
Jowers knocked in three runs and finished the game 3 for 5 that included a two-run blast to left in the third. Dan Melvin, Murphy and Nolan had two hits each for the Terps, now 17-23.
Reliever Seth Overbay pitched three innings of relief to pick up the win, his first of the season. He gave up two runs on five hits with three strikeouts.
Cecil earns his 10th save of the year.
Maryland snaps a three-game losing streak and improves to 10-6 at Shipley Field this season. The Terps are now 25-15-1 against the Mountaineers. The two teams will play again in Morgantown on Tuesday, May 9.
West Virginia returns to Hawley Field for a three-game weekend series against Louisville beginning on Friday night at 7 pm. The contest will air on WAJR and can also be heard on the Internet through CSTV All Access.
