May 19, 2004

Box Score

Chris Looze hit a pair of two-run homers and Nick Shimer hit his 17th homer of the year as the Patriots pulled away late against University of Maryland-Baltimore County to grab a 9-5 non-conference road win on Wednesday night.

Looze homered with one-out in the first to make it 2-0 and he homered again in the ninth to give the Patriots (35-14) a comfortable cushion as they prepare for the final three regular season games this weekend at James Madison. Jake Glanzmann went five somewhat shaky innings to improve to 4-0 on the year. Josh Morrison allowed just one hit in three innings of relief while Jason Mills pitched a perfect ninth to close the door on UMBC (15-34).

Shimer's team-leading 17th homer came in the fifth after Looze, who doubled in his second at-bat, was hit by a pitch. Robby Jacobsen also homered for the Patriots, hitting a solo shot to lead off the sixth inning. Jeff Palumbo later was hit by a pitch with two outs, stole second and scored on a Bruce Baldwin single.

The star of the game was Looze, though. He entered the week sixth in the nation in RBI per game and he added four in the game and has six on the week. Fittingly, his ninth-inning homer, giving him his 70th and 71st RBI of the season, also allowed this year's team to break the school record for RBI. The Patriots have driven in 384 runs, breaking the old school record of 383, set in 1985. The Patriots need 16 more runs to break the school record for runs in a season (437). They are averaging 8.6 runs per game and have at least five more games to play.

The Patriots need just one win this weekend or a UNC Wilmington loss to clinch the regular season Colonial Athletic Association crown and the top seed in next week's CAA Tournament. James Madison snapped a 10-game losing streak on Tuesday but the Dukes have still lost 11 of 12 games. Friday's game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start while Saturday and Sunday's games are set for 1 p.m.