After sweep, baseball see the error of its ways

Leading No. 3 Virginia 2-1 in the eighth inning Saturday, the Terrapin baseball team was six outs away from effectively erasing the memories of a five-error debacle in the series opener the night before.

And based on the way third baseman Tomo Delp was fielding, it hardly seemed like an inning — or a game — that would be destroyed by poor defense.

Playing shallow in the infield and looking for a bunt from the Cavaliers' leadoff batter, shortstop Chris Taylor, Delp dived to his left to snag a hard-hit ground ball before collecting himself and throwing out Taylor at first base for the first out of the inning.

Moments later, Cavalier left fielder John Barr laced another grounder that Delp grabbed backhanded and then relayed to first for another putout.

"Two quick outs," Delp said. "Yeah, that's when it started going bad."

The highlight-reel plays by Delp were quickly forgotten, as back-to-back errors from shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez and Delp set the table for a Virginia rally in an eventual 4-2 Terp loss, their second in a three-game Virginia sweep marred by uncharacteristic mistakes in the field.

Possibly the biggest came in that fateful eighth inning, when Rodriguez mishandled a routine ground ball that, on almost any other day, would have closed out the inning.

"I didn't handle the ball cleanly," Rodriguez said. "And with a good base runner that was running, I wasn't able to get him out."

Then, with one runner on after Rodriguez's error, Delp charged toward a chopper advancing to third base. As he tried to move the ball from his glove to his bare hand, he lost the handle on it, allowing a second Cavalier on base and putting the pieces in place for a winning rally.

"It just kinds of flares out," said Delp, recalling the play. "That just opened everything up."

But as the Terps (11-13) prepare to face George Mason tonight at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium, they've already closed the chapter on the defensive gaffes that ruined their weekend in Charlottesville, Va.

"Oh, I'm past it already," Rodriguez said. "I was past it the pitch after. I'm past it."

The team, it seems, has brushed off the mistakes similarly. Despite the costly errors, the Terps didn't take any extra fielding practice in preparation for the Patriots (10-14-1).

Errors are inevitable, Rodriguez admitted, but what made the blunder-filled weekend even more surprising was its contrast with the defensive prowess the Terps have shown all year. It's that fact that has the Terps confident their fielding won't be an issue against George Mason or for the rest of the year.

"I didn't make the play when I needed to," Rodriguez said. "But I'm confident that I'm going to make 99 out of 100 balls. That one, I wasn't able to come up with. We're confident in our defense. We've got one of the best defenses in the country, and everyone makes errors. It's just unfortunate that that was the time."

Coach Erik Bakich knows who he wants the ball hit to in important situations. Even after Rodriguez and Delp, two normally reliable defenders, made errors, Bakich said he wants them to be the ones making plays with the game on the line.

"In a situation like that, you would always want the ball hit to Alfredo. You feel good about the ball being hit to Tomo," Bakich said. "No sense dwelling on it now. Hopefully, they'll learn from it. They'll get another opportunity late in a game to be able to put an opponent away and make a clutch play."

If a similar situation arises tonight, it sounds like the feeling is mutual.

"I want the ball being hit to me, and that obviously gives me confidence that our coach wants the ball hit to me," Rodriguez said. "I want the ball."

schneider@umdbk.com