The Terrapins baseball team’s game against East Carolina was tied at three in the bottom of the eighth inning when Pirates left fielder Dwanya Williams-Sutton stepped up to the plate with a runner on second.
There had already been three lead-changes in the contest. Williams-Sutton made it four with an RBI double to give the Pirates a one-run lead.
The Terps wouldn’t take the lead again. Coach John Szefc’s squad stranded a season-high 14 runners on base, as it fell, 4-3, to No. 25 East Carolina for its lone loss in the Keith LeClair Classic this weekend.
Right-hander Brian Shaffer, after allowing four runs in 2.1 innings in his previous start, allowed two runs off of five hits Sunday, which was the Terps’ first contest against a ranked opponent.
East Carolina right-hander Jimmy Boyd contained Szefc’s team through four innings, but in the fifth, the Terps (5-5) forced him to exit the game.
Shortstop Kevin Smith hit his first home run of the season. Then after right fielder Madison Nickens walked, second baseman Nick Dunn drove him in to give the Terps a 2-0 lead.
But the Pirates (8-3) responded with a two-run home run in the sixth inning that pushed Shaffer out of the game.
And in the seventh inning, the Terps surrendered their first lead of the contest off an error. Shortstop Kevin Smith’s throw sailed behind Robert Galligan as the left-hander tried to make a tag at first base.
The Terps responded the following inning when Dunn notched his second RBI of the game, but East Carolina wouldn’t go away, regaining the lead in the eighth inning.
Yesterday, Szefc’s team dominated in an 8-1 win over Southeastern Louisiana, as it strung together nine hits and right-hander Taylor Bloom allowed just four hits in seven scoreless innings.
But Sunday, the Terps failed to record at least eight runs for the first time in five games.
