The only thing that prevented the Terrapin baseball team from scoring last night was the end of the game.
The Terps scored runs in all but one inning as they cruised to an 11-5 victory over Temple yesterday in front of 332 spectators at Shipley Field. It was an all-around solid effort for the team, who is on the verge of a three-game series with No. 1-ranked Georgia Tech.
Senior leftfielder Will Frazier led the Terp offense with three of the team’s 11 hits, and freshman pitcher Mike Sufczynski improved to 3-0 after throwing 5.1 innings. Sufczynski only gave up four hits and two earned runs in the outing.
The Terps (13-14) ended a seven-game homestand with back-to-back wins after starting out 1-4.
“Overall, I’m pleased with how our guys responded and rebounded,” coach Terry Rupp said. “Today we really came out of [the slump], and I think we’re ready to go to Georgia Tech and lay it on the line.”
The Terps opened the game with a three-run seventh inning after Temple (7-12) cut a four-run deficit to two.
With two Terps on base and one out, Frazier hit an RBI single, and catcher Bobby Ryan followed it with an infield single to load the bases. With freshman rightfielder Nick Jowers up to bat, Owl pitcher Chris Hamilton threw a wild pitch way over catcher Marc Wagner’s head. Designated catcher Chad Durakis scored from third while Frazier and Wilson each advanced a base.
Wagner retrieved the wild pitch and attempted to throw out Durakis at home, but he threw the ball away. As Frazier broke for home, Owl firstbaseman Mike Weckenman, backing up the play, also threw the ball away. Frazier slid in safely, and Wilson advanced to third as the Terps scored two runs without even making contact.
“Once the other team puts up a run or two, you gotta come right back and match that,” Frazier said. “We did a good job tonight of scoring runs the next inning.”
Frazier is batting .421 over a current eight game hitting streak.
Senior outfielder Truan Mehl and Durakis each went 2-for-4 to also extend their hitting streaks. Mehl’s stands at 13, and Durkais is at 11.
The team took a 5-1 lead into the sixth inning behind Sufczynski. After recording the first out, the freshman pitcher fell into some trouble. A walk, a single and a double led to two runs and the end of the night for Sufczynski. He was replaced by freshman Brett Tidball, who got the first batter he faced to ground into an inning-ending double play.
A big key to the win was getting an early lead, Sufczynski said.
“It’s very important because you can just throw strikes and let them hit the ball,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about the stress of being behind.”
As the team gets ready for the top-ranked Yellow Jackets, it can reflect back on yesterday’s game as a positive — something the Terps have been unable to do recently.
“[Last night] we actually had an all-around good game,” Mehl said. “And it’s been a while.”