No. 1-seed Maryland baseball escapes No. 3-seed UConn in extras, 7-6, forces rematch in regional final

With every group struggling to attain within the remaining three innings, No. 1-seed Maryland baseball had a walk-off alternative within the backside of the eleventh inning with the rating tied at 4.

Following a junior left fielder Bobby Zmarzlak strikeout, sophomore second baseman Kevin Keister received the inning began with a single to left subject, forcing No. 3-seed UConn to make a pitching change. Freshman right-handed pitcher Jack Sullivan was put within the recreation and struggled closely, surrendering a single and hitting a batter on back-to-back pitches.

With the bases loaded, junior third baseman Nick Lorusso stepped as much as the plate with an opportunity to increase Maryland’s season. The Villanova switch didn’t look again, smacking an out of doors fastball to the right-center subject wall the place the opposing outfielders may solely watch the ball sail over their heads.

With the walk-off hit, Maryland defeated UConn, 7-6, on Sunday evening in Faculty Park, establishing a rematch of the regional remaining and one other likelihood to advance to the NCAA tremendous regionals. Maryland and UConn will play as soon as once more on Monday evening to find out who wins the regional and who is distributed residence packing.

Together with his three aces unavailable, Maryland head coach Rob Vaughn selected graduate pupil right-handed pitcher Nick Robinson to begin on the mound.

Robinson was electrical in his first two innings, solely going through seven batters whereas choosing up three strikeouts.

Just like its final outing in opposition to Wake Forest, Maryland made issues occur with two outs on the board within the prime of the primary. Junior third baseman Nick Lorusso received issues going with a double down the left subject line and was instantly despatched residence on a single up the center from sophomore shortstop Matt Shaw.

Junior proper fielder Troy Schreffler capped off the inning with a two-run shot over the left-center subject wall, giving the Terps an early 3-0 lead.

Within the third inning, Robinson and UConn graduate pupil right-handed pitcher Enzo Stefanoni traded 1-2-3 innings as the sport rapidly turned a pitchers duel.

The Huskies produced two hits within the prime of the fourth, however Robinson saved his shutout alive, choosing up his fifth strikeout of the sport.

Stefanoni recorded two fast outs within the backside of the fourth, however he started to lose management of the strike zone. After hitting Zmarzlak and strolling Keister, Stefanoni was relieved by sophomore left-handed pitcher Garrett Coe.

With the bases loaded, Coe put a lid on Maryland’s two-out rally, forcing fifth-year middle fielder Chris “Bubba” Alleyne to flyout.

The Terps broke the scoring drought within the backside of the fifth inning as Lorusso smashed a solo residence run to left-center subject. Coe didn’t let the homer give Maryland any momentum as he struck out the subsequent three batters.

UConn made its means onto the scoreboard within the sixth inning as effectively, fully erasing the Terps’ four-run lead. Redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Nigel Belgrave began the inning and couldn’t get right into a rhythm, hitting and strolling his first two batters.

Then, redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Will Glock took the mound and allowed two-RBI singles, which lower Maryland’s result in one. Freshman left-handed pitcher Michael Walsh was the ultimate Terp to take the mound, however the Huskies scored another earlier than the inning got here to an finish with the rating knotted at 4.

Whereas Maryland couldn’t reply within the backside of the sixth, they retook the lead simply an inning later. Alleyne led off the inning with a double to left subject, bringing everybody at “The Bob” to their ft.

With senior right-handed pitcher Devin Kirby now on the mound, Shaw hit an infield single to second base. UConn graduate pupil first baseman Ben Huber tried to gun Alleyne out at residence, however his throw was inaccurate, permitting Shaw to advance to second. Senior first baseman Maxwell Costes tacked on another run with an RBI single to proper subject, pushing Maryland’s result in two.

The lead didn’t final for lengthy as UConn put collectively a two-out rally of its personal. With two strikes on him, redshirt sophomore second baseman David Smith drilled a stand-up triple to the correct subject wall, scoring redshirt junior middle fielder T.C. Simmons from first.

In an try to guard the lead and the season, head coach Rob Vaughn turned to junior left-handed pitcher and Friday’s starter Ryan Ramsey, who made his first look of the season from the bullpen. Ramsey struck out the one batter that he confronted, however threw a wild pitch within the course of, which scored Smith from third to even the sport at six apiece.

Neither group scored within the ninth inning, sending Maryland to its sixth extra-innings recreation of the season.

Ramsey pitched a easy prime of the tenth to provide the Terps one other walk-off likelihood, however Kirby countered with a 1-2-3 inning to ship the sport to an eleventh body.

Freshman southpaw Andrew Johnson relieved Ramsey from his gutsy displaying within the prime of the eleventh, and he swiftly retired the facet in 4 batters. His sharp pitching gave the Terps an opportunity to win it within the backside half of the inning.

A one-out single by Keister pressured UConn to tug Kirby in favor of Sullivan, and the Terps didn’t go away any doubts from there.

Maryland may have an opportunity to advance to its third tremendous regional in program historical past with a win on Monday evening.

Three issues to know

1. Nick Robinson was flawless. In simply his second begin of the season, Robinson confirmed up. The graduate pupil pitched the primary 5 innings, surrendering 4 hits, one stroll and nil runs whereas putting out 5 batters. With Ramsey, sophomore right-handed pitcher Jason Savacool and junior right-handed pitcher Nick Dean already pitching this weekend, Robinson answered the decision because the fourth beginning pitcher within the rotation.

2. The Terps’ bullpen struggled but once more. After Robinson’s implausible begin, Maryland’s bullpen instantly wiped all of his progress, surrendering 4 runs within the prime of the fourth. It was eerily just like the final time these two groups met on Saturday night. Savacool allowed three runs through the first six innings, however the one-run deficit ballooned into eight when Belgrave and sophomore right-handed pitcher Gavin Stellpflug let up seven runs within the seventh and eighth innings.

Regardless of the bullpen’s struggles within the center innings, Ramsey and Johnson mixed to surrender no earned runs and just one hit within the recreation’s remaining 3.1 innings.

3. Maryland is one win away from advancing to the tremendous regionals. With the 7-6 win underneath their belt, the Terps at the moment are only one win away from shifting onto the NCAA tremendous regionals. Maryland’s season was on the road on Sunday evening, however the Terps dug deep and got here out on prime. The Terps will now play UConn for the third time in three days on Monday in a winner-take-all recreation.