University of Delaware Athletics
Young Goes Eight Scoreless as Delaware Baseball Posts Second Straight Win Over The Citadel With 5-0 Shutout Victory
2/24/2012 8:22:00 PM | Baseball
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Blue Hen senior righthander Eric Young (at right) allowed just three hits through eight scoreless innings while Eric Buckland pitched a scoreless ninth as the duo combined on a three-hit shutout during the University of Delaware baseball team's 5-0 victory over The Citadel Friday afternoon at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
Young, who fired seven scoreless frames during last weekend's season opener at Houston, earned the victory on Friday and has now begun his senior year by giving up five hits and striking out 12 batters in 15 scoreless innings of work. Young retired the first 11 batters he faced and allowed just three singles during Friday's outing, and after running into a bit of trouble in the seventh when The Citadel loaded the bases with two outs, he got Bo Thompson to ground out to third to escape the jam.
Delaware, which won its second straight game while improving to 2-3 on the season, got all the offense it would need by scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. Alex Maruri stroked a two-out double down the leftfield line to drive home Nick Ferdinand, and then came around to score when Tyler Powell singled up the middle.
The Blue Hens had runners on the corners with two outs in the second when D.J. Long struck out, but Long reached first while EJ Stoltzfus scored on a wild pitch by Bulldogs starting pitcher Kevin Connell. Ferdinand then delivered an RBI single up the middle, knocking home Cameron Travalini to make it a 4-0 game.
Delaware maintained its four-run cushion until the top of the ninth, when Maruri legged out an infield single to drive home Travalini with the fifth run of the contest.
Buckland then fired a scoreless bottom of the ninth to complete the Blue Hens' first shutout since a 5-0 blanking at Lehigh on Apr. 6, 2011.
Maruri finished 2 for 5 with two RBI and a run scored to pace the Delaware attack, while Ferdinand was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Connell took the loss in his first decision of the year after allowing four runs, three earned, on four hits in four innings of work for The Citadel, which dropped to 1-4 on the campaign.
The teams will play the third game of their four-game set on Saturday with a single contest beginning at 12 noon.
