The Terps traveled down to Orlando Florida to take on the UCF Knights in their last weekend series before the start of conference play. They would wind up winning the series two games to one scoring 26 runs in the three games. The Terps also took on Georgetown Tuesday night and defeated the Hoyas thanks to yet another great offensive performance by a score of 10-7.
In game one against UCF, the Terps wound up losing a close well-pitched game, 4-2. Jason Savacool would get his third loss on the season pitching six innings giving up four hits and three runs while also pitching ten strikeouts. Nigel Belgrave and Tommy Kane would come out of the bullpen for the Terps and would only give up one run in three innings. Offensively, Luke Shliger would score both of the Terps’ runs on the day. One in the first inning off a single by Matt Woods and a home run by himself in the fifth inning.
In game two of the series, Maryland’s bats came to life after scoring 16 runs on the day. The Terps hit four home runs on the day by Nick Lorusso, Matt Shaw, Ian Petrutz, and Elijah Lambros. Lorusso led the team in RBIs with four on the day while also adding three hits and two runs scored. Petrutz led the team with four hits on the day going 4/4 with a walk. Pitching-wise, the Terps would up giving six runs on the day. Nick Dean got the start but would struggle after three innings. Kenny Lippman would then come in and pitch three strong innings to earn the win. The Terps pitchers together had 10 strikeouts with Ryan Van Buren leading the way with four.
Top 8 | Don't forget…Petrutz has POWER
Terps 15, UCF 6 pic.twitter.com/OdsRXrVZC7
— Maryland Baseball (@TerpsBaseball) March 26, 2023
In the rubber match of the series, the Terps came out on top 8-6 after another strong offensive performance. Kyle McCoy got the start for the Terps and had a very strong outing. McCoy pitches eight scoreless innings giving up just three hits and striking out nine batters. In the ninth inning, the Knights bats found their groove and nearly pulled off the comeback scoring all six runs once McCoy was pulled. Offensively, Shaw led the Terps going 4/5 with five RBIs, two runs scored, and a home run on the day. Jacob Orr and Woods were the other two players to drive in runs in the winning effort.
Maryland would win its third straight game after topping Georgetown, 10-7, as Nick Lorusso extended his hit streak to 23 games after belting a three-run home run to give Maryland a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Bot 5| Lorusso goes long
The Terps reclaim the lead with a 3-run HR
Terps 9, Hoyas 7 pic.twitter.com/fiBPSN5fBi
— Maryland Baseball (@TerpsBaseball) March 28, 2023
Back at “The Bob” for their weekday match against Georgetown, the Terps offense stayed hot scoring ten runs on the night. Lorusso led the Terps with RBIs with three thanks to a three run home run in the fifth inning. The Terps only tallied six hits on the day but wound up drawing ten walks. Shaw scored three runs leading the Terps in runs scored on the day. The Terps wound up using six pitchers on the day. Nate Haberthier would get the start but only go two innings before being pulled. Andrew Johnson would wind up being the pitcher getting credited with the win going 1.2 innings with no hits or runs allowed and a strikeout. Van Buren would end up earning the save, his first on the season.
This weekend, the Terps will be heading to Iowa City to take on Iowa to open up conference play. The Hawkeyes are 19-4 and coming off a loss to Illinois State. Iowa has beaten some top teams such as the top-ranked LSU Tigers, and 22nd-ranked Texas Tech. The Hawkeyes are batting with a .305 average as a team with a run differential of +102. The Terps’ pitching staff will be very much tested this weekend, if they have a strong showing against Iowa it will show they are still improving and getting stronger and stronger as the season goes on. The Hawkeyes will be a tough early test for the Terps to see how they are going to fare against the Big Ten this season. Game one will be at 1 pm on Friday, March 31st, game two will start at 3:05 PM on Saturday, and game three will start at 1 PM on Sunday.
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