Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. – A late two-out, five-run rally in the eighth inning lifted the University of Delaware baseball team to a 6-4 victory over Maryland in the Blue Hens’ final non-conference game of the season at Bob Hannah Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

Trailing by two entering the bottom of the eighth, Delaware (24-18) overcame the deficit with five runs to snap the team’s three-game losing streak. Scott Shockley (at right) highlighted the late-inning effort as the senior co-captain blasted a three-run home run to give the squad its first lead of the game.

After Maryland (27-27) retired the first two batters in order in the eighth, Bill Merkler drew a walk before Josh Dean singled through the left side. Shockley followed with the biggest hit of the game, launching a three-run shot over the rightfield fence to give the Hens their first lead of the day at 4-3.

Delaware continued to rally following the home run as Pat Dameron doubled to right before Kyle Davis legged out an RBI triple. Carlos Alonso quickly chased Davis in with a single to rightfield that capped the rally and gave the squad a 6-3 advantage.

After the Blue Hen bullpen had retired 13 straight Terrapins dating back to the end of the fourth, the Delaware staff ran into a little trouble in the ninth. Tyler Bennett and Will Greenberg reached on back-to-back singles before Gerry Spessard was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out.

Corey Crispell was quickly summoned into the game to work out of the jam. Although he allowed one run on a ground out by Dan Benick, the sophomore right-hander sealed the victory and picked up his second save of the season after inducing a game-ending groundball by pinch hitter Matthew Murakami.

Michael Londino (2-0) earned the victory for Delaware, while Ian Schwalenberg (2-5) took the loss.

In the early going, Maryland looked strong as the squad opened the scoring in the top of the second after plating two runs against Blue Hen starter Will Blackman. David Poutier opened the frame with a double to left center before Spessard drew a one-out walk. Alfredo Rodriguez followed with a triple to deep right field.

The Terrapins looked to be in good position to continue their rally, but Blackman made a great play to end the threat. After a pitch got away from catcher Ryan Reed, Blackman came charging in and blocked the plate perfectly before laying down a tag on Rodriguez as the Terrapin shortstop tried to score from third on the play.

One inning later, the Blue Hens answered with a run in the bottom of the third. Alonso kicked off the frame by extending his on-base streak to 42 games after drawing a walk in his second plate appearance. After the speedy lead-off hitter advanced to second on a passed ball, Reed slammed a single back up the middle to put Delaware on the board.

Maryland recaptured its two-run advantage in the fourth after Tyler Bennett led off with a walk, advanced to second on a single by Poutier, moved to third on a fielder’s choice, and scored when Benick beat out an infield single.

After the Hens went down in order in the bottom of the fourth, Devon Pearson had an impressive inning in the top of the fifth as the freshman southpaw sent three straight Terps down looking.

Both bullpens continued to impress throughout the middle innings. With the exception of a single by Alonso in the sixth, neither team saw a single runner reach base from the bottom of the fourth through the top of the seventh. Blue Hen centerfielder Josh Dean played a key part in keeping the Terrapins off the base paths as the junior standout made a phenomenal diving grab on a sinking liner in front of him to end the seventh.

After the seventh inning stretch, the Blue Hens had a minor rally going after Shockley worked a lead-off walk before Davis lined a one-out single through the right side of the infield. Unfortunately, Delaware came away empty handed after Adam Kolarek induced two fly balls to cap the frame.

Although the Maryland staff escaped trouble in the seventh, the Terrapins did not fare as well in the eighth as Delaware posted its clutch two-out, five-run rally to pull out the victory.

Davis, Dameron, and Alonso all posted two hits for the Hens, while Shockley added three RBI. Poutier paced the Maryland attack with a 2-for-4 performance.

Delaware will return to action on Thursday when the team begins a crucial three-game series with VCU at 3 p.m.