No. 13 Maryland baseball defeats South Florida, 9-5, to win first series of year

No. 13 Maryland baseball got here into Sunday with an opportunity to win its opening sequence of the 2023 season at South Florida after night the sequence Saturday with an 8-1 win.

The Terps held a 4-2 lead going into the fifth inning, and after two walks and successful sophomore designated hitter Ian Petrutz got here to the plate for the Terps with the bases loaded and one out. On his first pitch of his at-bat, Petrutz despatched the ball over the precise area wall, unloading the bases and breaking the sport open for the Terps, who went on to win 9-5.

The blast was the third grand slam in as many video games for Maryland, which rode huge days from Petrutz and junior shortstop Matt Shaw — who went 5-for-5 with three RBIs — to victory.

The highest of the lineup for the Terps got here into Sunday struggling, with junior catcher Luke Shliger, Shaw and senior third baseman Nick Lorusso all discovering it tough to get on base. However to start out Sunday’s recreation, Shliger generated a stroll that was adopted by successful by Shaw, which allowed Lorusso’s deep flyout to attain Shliger from third and provides the Terps an early lead.

Junior right-handed pitcher Nate Haberthier’s Maryland debut began off rocky, giving up a house run to Daniel Cantu on the second pitch of the sport. After that, Bobby Boser singled and a wild pitch moved him to second with no outs.

An infield hit subsequently put runners on the corners, then Marcus Brodil hit right into a double play that introduced Boser dwelling, giving USF a 2-1 lead. After a Sankovich hit, Haberthier lastly bought out of the inning on a groundout by Ruiz.

Bulls beginning pitcher Austin Grause and Haberthier settled in after that, buying and selling comparatively fast second innings.

Within the prime of the third, Shliger hit a tough double, and Shaw introduced him in with a homer, his first of the season. The Terps threatened to do extra harm, however a double play ended the inning.

Sophomore switch infielder Eddie Hacopian hit his first dwelling run as a Terp within the prime of the fourth, extending the result in 4-2.

Shortly after, Grause was taken out of the sport. He gave up 4 earned runs, 5 hits (two dwelling runs) and two walks. Proper-hander Tyler Dietz got here in for Grause, inducing a flyout and a pickoff to finish the inning.

After an uneventful backside of the fourth, Elijah Lambros reached base once more after getting hit by a pitch to start out the fifth. Two pitches later he stole second, and Shaw introduced him to 3rd to place runners on the corners. Dietz walked Lorusso to load the bases, mentioning freshman righty Lawson Gailey to pitch in aid. On the primary pitch of Gailey’s outing, Petrutz welcomed him to collegiate baseball with a grand slam, ballooning the Terps’ result in 8-2.

Haberthier did have a shaky first inning however appeared to settle in. Within the fourth he gave up a double, then retired three straight batters. He completed the day with 5 innings pitched, permitting seven hits, one stroll and recording 4 strikeouts.

Redshirt sophomore right-hander Nigel Belgrave got here in for aid for Haberthier, putting out two batters within the backside of the sixth.

Bulls pitcher Lawson Gailey additionally appeared to settle in after giving up a grand slam on his first collegiate pitch, retiring 5 straight batters after.

Within the backside of the seventh, switch right-handed pitcher Tommy Kane got here in for Belgrave and surrendered a stroll and two hits, together with a three-run blast by Drew Brutcher that reduce the Bulls’ deficit to 3. Kane retired the subsequent three batters to cease any additional harm, after which fellow switch Kenny Lippman got here in to shut for the Terps, with two innings pitched, two hits, successful by pitch, two strikeouts and no runs.

Regardless of a late inning push by Drew Brutcher, USF wasn’t in a position to overcome a six-run deficit, giving Maryland a 2-1 sequence win.

Subsequent, the Terps will play their first dwelling recreation of the season on Tuesday in opposition to West Virginia at 4 p.m.

Three issues to know

1. The highest of the lineup lastly confirmed up. Maryland’s prime three within the lineup struggled early within the sequence, going a mixed 2-for-25 on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, the highest of the lineup confirmed out. Shliger had two walks and a hard-hit double, Lorusso had successful, an RBI sac fly and a stroll, and Shaw, who solely had one hit all the sequence up till Saturday, had 5 hits in 5 at-bats, together with a two-run shot and three RBIs. Shaw additionally had a number of good defensive performs.

2. Haberthier settled in after a troublesome begin. A giant concern for some is how Nate Habertheir would slot in because the Terps Sunday starter. Haberthier began off his Maryland debut by giving up a house run to Cantu, and surrendered one other run on a sequence of hits and stolen bases within the first inning. He did surrender seven hits however appeared to settle in. General, it was a stable efficiency from the Ohio State switch.

3. Three video games, three grand slams. The Terps hit a grand slam hit in each recreation this sequence, a very spectacular feat. Jacob Orr hit one on Friday, Lorusso hit one Saturday to interrupt the sport open for the Terps, and on Sunday, Petrutz hit one on the primary pitch of his at-bat to increase Maryland’s result in six. The Terps scored at the very least seven runs in all three video games this weekend.