Box Score BALTIMORE, Md. – The Harford Baseball team (7-6, 0-1 MD JUCO) squandered another stellar outing by Michael Devecchio Wednesday afternoon, falling to CCBC Essex (6-3, 3-0 MD JUCO), 5-3, in a game shortened due to darkness.
 
Devecchio (1-2), who was charged with five earned runs, was saddled with the loss despite striking out 14 Essex hitters. Devecchio has now registered double-digit strikeouts in two of his three starts. He also struck out 12 in his first start against USC Sumter.
 
Three walks and a hit batter proved to be costly for the southpaw. Of the five runs he allowed, four of them reached base via walk or hit by pitch. After walking the first two batters, Devecchio gave up a run on a wild pitch in which catcher Max Joseph couldn't find the ball in time, allowing leadoff hitter Ben Murray to score all the way from second. Two-hole hitter Michael McCray made it to third on the same pitch and scored on Kyle Gerdts' RBI groundout to short.
 
In the seventh inning, with Harford leading 3-2, Devecchio, after striking out the leadoff hitter, issued a walk to Corey Lewis and hit Tom Harper to put two on. He jumped up on Murray with a first pitch strike, the 21^st of 22 first pitch strikes he threw, and appeared to induce a swing and miss on the second pitch of the at bat. Murray checked his swing but appeared to go too far. The home plate umpire deemed it not to be a swing and the umpire in the field agreed with that call on the appeal. Murray singled to centerfield on the next pitch, driving the tying run in and putting Harper, the go-ahead run, on third with one out. Devecchio and Joseph appeared to get their signs crossed on a passed ball during the next at bat, allowing Harper to score and Murray to move to second. Murray then stole third on Devecchio's last pitch of the game, a strikeout of McCray.
 
Will Reed would come on to try to minimize the damage but gave up a single to Gerdts on a 0-2 pitch, scoring Murray and pushing the Knights' lead to 5-3. Reed struck out the next batter he faced but the damage had been done.
 
Harford came up to bat in the top of the eighth but went down in order against Essex reliever Jason Nunez who struck out two and induced an inning ending pop out to third in foul territory. The game was called due to darkness and Essex received the win, moving them to 3-0 in MD JUCO play.
 
Harford had nine hits in the game but were mostly unable to get going offensively in the game. Daulton Weeks went 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs batted in. He drove in Jack Hamner in the third inning to get the Fighting Owls on the board. He smashed a no-doubter to dead center in the fifth inning to put them on top, 3-2. The sophomore third baseman now has three home runs on the year, all on the road. JP Vail also went 2-for-3 and scored the run to tie the game at two in the fourth inning on a wild pitch.
 
Harford will be back in action Thursday when they host Anne Arundel. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.