Terrapin shortstop Joe Palumbo had two RBI singles in last night’s 9-5 win over visiting George Mason, but for Palumbo, the hits weren’t the only thing that made the win special.
The senior has two brothers on George Mason – Dan, a sophomore infielder, and Jeff, a Patriots assistant coach – making the game a family affair.
“A little bit – it feels good,” Palumbo said when asked if he takes any extra pride in being the one to get the big hits against his brothers’ team. “It doesn’t feel as good as an ACC win, but any win feels good.”
Palumbo’s game-winning RBI came in the seventh inning with the bases loaded, two outs and the score tied 5-5. An infield single up the middle plated one run, and the Patriots couldn’t throw out catcher Mike Moss, running hard on contact, at the plate.
The win gave the Terps (16-13, 3-9 ACC) a two-game season sweep over George Mason, and it’s hard to find anybody on the team happier about it than Palumbo.
“He can kind of brag a little bit when he gets back home,” coach Terry Rupp said. “I’m sure he had a little bit of motivation. He hurt them in the first game at their place, and I think there was a little more incentive there.”
If not for Palumbo’s two key hits, it might have been the George Mason side of the family with the bragging rights.
It was a back-and-forth game throughout, with the Patriots (12-15, 7-4 CAA) scoring two runs off of redshirt sophomore pitcher John Dischert in the seventh inning to tie the game at 5 right after the Terps had scored two in the bottom of the sixth.
The Terps went deep into the bullpen, using Dischert for the first time this season and junior walk-on Dan Gentzler, who made his first appearance of the year in Tuesday’s win over Navy.
After Dischert gave up the two runs in the seventh without retiring an out, senior Mike Sufczynski came on in relief and finally shut the door. Sufczynski pitched three innings of no-hit, no-walk ball to earn his first win of the year.
The Terps took advantage of an error by George Mason shortstop Brent Weiss in the third inning to score two runs and get out to an early 3-1 lead.
Weiss went out to catch a pop-up off the bat of first baseman Will Greenberg, but the ball hit off his glove as he ran out to left field, allowing senior center fielder Nick Jowers to score.
Senior catcher Chad Durakis came up next and belted an RBI double down the line, part of his 3-3 night at the plate.
But while Palumbo might say the victory was just as important as any other win, he did admit it meant a little bit more.
If nothing else, the win gives Palumbo bragging rights whenever he sees his brothers. Palumbo says he will remind his brothers of last night’s win, and his own important RBI, for a long time.
“I’ll mention it, for years to come” Palumbo said.
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