Terps take two from Bulldogs on Saturday

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Maryland's Jake Stinnett and Mike Shawaryn posted dominant starts as the Terrapins swept the Bryant University baseball team with a pair of 3-0 victories on Saturday afternoon at Bob Smith Stadium.

The right-handed Stinnett struck out a career-high 11 and allowed just one hit to lead the Terrapins (3-2) past the Bulldogs (0-2) in game one and Shawaryn tossed six scoreless in the nightcap. Bryant mustered just five hits over the course of two games.

GAME ONE

In a game dominated by pitching, Maryland took advantage of early opportunity to grab a lead. Kevin Martir started the inning with a ground ball to third and reached safely as the first base umpire ruled first baseman Robby Rinn (Warwick, R.I.) pulled his foot off the bag. The call proved pivotal as pinch-runner Tim Lewis moved to second on a sac bunt and scored on a RBI single to right from Anthony Papio.

In his new role as staff ace, senior Craig Schlitter (Guilford, Conn.) pitched like one against the Terrapins on Saturday. After Papio's RBI single, Schlitter settled down, allowing just one hit the rest of the way. Jonathan Scott (Princeton, N.J.) threw out Papio trying to take second on a ball in the dirt and Schlitter struck out Mike Rescigno looking to end the second. Schlitter cruised through the third and fourth innings but hit trouble in the fifth. Maryland loaded the bases with no outs on an infield single, hit batter and a fielding error but Schlitter didn't back down. He struck out Jose Cuas swinging and Andrew Amaro looking before inducing a weak ground ball from White to end the threat.

Maryland tacked on two insurance runs in the seventh inning against sophomore reliever Kyle Wilcox (Sandy Hook, Conn.). A pair of hit batters gave the Terrapins two runners and Cuas was able to beat a double-play ball to keep the inning alive. Wilcox was then called for a balk to force in a run and Amaro delivered an RBI single to center to cap the scoring.

Bryant's offensive chances were few and far between against the right-hander Stinnett. He retired the first 17 batters he faced before Dan Cellucci (Sudbury, Mass.) reached on a dropped third strike with two outs in the sixth. Stinnett allowed his only hit of the game in the seventh as Carl Anderson (Sudbury, Mass.) beat out an infield single. Moments before, White made a leaping catch at the wall to take away extra bases from sophomore AJ Zarozny (Shrewsbury, Mass.).

Schlitter (0-1) allowed an unearned run on two hits, struck out four and didn't walk a batter in five innings. Wilcox allowed two runs on two hits over three innings of relief.

GAME TWO

It was more of the same in game two as the two sides engaged in a pitching battle. Maryland earned its second win of the day with a single run in the third and two runs in the fourth and another strong starting performance.

Making his second-career starter, Shawaryn tossed six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits to earn his second win. He walked one and struck out three. Tayler Stiles, Alex Robinson and Kevin Mooney each tossed an inning of relief to close the door.

Bryant had its chances against Shawaryn but left at man at third base in three of the first four innings. Junior Jordan Mountford (Guelph, Ont.) doubled to start the game but Shawaryn struck out a pair to strand him at third. Cellucci ripped a one-out double in the third but a pair of fly outs left him stranded. In the fourth, Anderson singled, stole second and advanced to third on an errant pickoff throw but couldn't advance home.

The Bulldogs made one final push in the ninth inning, loading the bases with two outs. John Mullen (Walpole, Mass.) reached on an error and Rinn and freshman Matt Albanese (East Haddam, Conn.) drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Mooney escaped the jam and ended the game with a strikeout.

Maryland scored all three of its runs in a two-inning span. In the third, White was hit by a pitch, stole second, advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch. A walk and two singles loaded the bases with one out in the fourth and junior Kevin McAvoy (Syracuse, N.Y.) hit Cuas on the leg to force in a run. Amaro followed with an RBI single to left-center to make it 3-0.

The Bulldogs called on sophomore James Davitt (Wallingford, Conn.) following the Amaro single and he answered the call. White popped up the first pitch and Davitt froze Lowe with an inside fastball on 3-2 to get out of the jam. In just his second career appearance, Davitt went on to throw 2.2 scoreless innings. He allowed just one hit, walked one and struck out three. He struck out two in the fifth and picked off Amaro after issuing a two-out walk in the sixth.

McAvoy (0-1) allowed three runs on four hits and walked two batters in 3.1 innings. Senior Jonathan Cohen (Norwalk, Conn.) followed Davitt and retired all four batters he faced. Junior Alex Lagos (Wrentham, Mass.), a converted infielder, made his first career appearance on the mound, striking out a pair in the eighth. Offensively, the Black and Gold received hits from four different individuals.  

Bryant and Maryland finish their series on Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch.