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In the second game of the weekend series, No. 17 East Carolina edged Maryland baseball 2-1 to clinch the series win.
Terps pitchers Zach Thompson and Andrew Vail limited the Pirates to five hits, all singles. However, Maryland managed only three hits and left eight runners on base. The dagger was the bottom of the seventh, when the Terps loaded the bases with one out but couldn’t score.
East Carolina two-way star Alec Burleson beat the Terps on both sides of the ball. He went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, and pitched the final three innings, holding the Terps scoreless and recording the save.
The Pirates got on board in the second inning, scoring twice on a walk and three singles. Some questionable fielding by the Terps kept Thompson from getting out of the inning unscathed. Brady Lloyd and Dusty Baker recorded ECU’s RBI hits.
In the fourth inning, Thompson was able to work out of a jam. Burleson doubled into the left field corner and advanced to third on a groundout. But Thompson struck out the next batter, and got the third out on a grounder to Maxwell Costes.
After being blanked for the first 12 innings of this series, the Terps finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Taylor Wright doubled off of the wall in right, then swiped third. Costes drew a walk. With Justin Vought up, the first pitch got by the catcher and Wright scored to bring the Terps within a run.
Maryland missed out on a great opportunity to tie or take the lead in the seventh inning. Burleson relieved starter Tyler Smith, and the sophomore walked AJ Lee and Ben Cowles. Caleb Walls popped up a bunt, but Chris Alleyne was hit by a pitch to load the bases. However, Burleson fanned Randy Bednar and got Wright to pop up.
Thompson kept the game close, keeping the Pirates scoreless after the second inning. In all, Thompson went eight innings, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk, striking out two batters.
Andrew Vail relieved Thompson to start the top of the ninth, and the freshman southpaw threw a scoreless inning. But the Terps went down in order in the bottom of the inning to lose 2-1.
Thompson was the hard-luck loser, dropping his record to 1-2 on the year. The Terps fall to 10-7 with the loss. Maryland and ECU play the final game of the series Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.