Days after securing the regular season title, Maryland has secured the Big Ten Tournament title after blanking Iowa 4-0 on Sunday, allowing just five hits in the win. Maryland has now won its first-ever conference tournament title, a streak that spanned across both the ACC and Big Ten.
Maryland their first Big Ten Tournament shutout since 2016 and just the second-ever in a Big Ten Tournament Championship game with the only other one coming in 1989 when Illinois beat Michigan, 2-0, to claim the title.
Maryland got themselves out of a pair of early pitching jams before breaking the scoreless game in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Kevin Keister blasted a two-run home run into left field. Nick Lorusso kept the bats hot with a solo homer just three at-bats later, which stayed hot into the sixth after Jacob Orr’s single into centerfield brought Eddie Hacopian in from second for his 30th RBI of the season, extending Maryland’s lead to 4-0.
#Terps score first vs. Iowa after Kevin Keister blasts a two-run HR in the bottom of the fifth
Three at-bats later, Nick Lorusso belts a solo shot to extend the lead to 3-0pic.twitter.com/c9k3OwGVok
— Inside the Black & Gold (@Insideblackgold) May 28, 2023
Maryland leaned on its bullpen the rest of the way with Kenny Lippman and Dave Falco among the five pitchers on the mound before David Falco picked up his tenth save of the season. Kenny Lippman (8-1) recorded the win after retiring all eight batters faced.
Maryland opened the Big Ten Tournament with a 3-2 win before facing Nebraska in consecutive games. Nick Lorusso’s walk-off home run in the tenth inning gave Maryland the win in the first matchup against the Huskers before the Terps’ pitching staff answered the call to quiet Nebraska’s bats in a 4-2 win, setting the stage for Sunday’s championship game.
With the 2023 NCAA Tournament set to be announced on Monday at noon on ESPNW, Maryland entered Sunday projected as a two-seed facing Cal State Fullerton in Baton Rouge, according to D1Baseball.com. With the win, Maryland now earns an auto-bid to the NCAA Tournament and will make its third consecutive tournament appearance, sixth since 2014, and ninth in program history after moving to 41-19.
With Matt Shaw (player of the year) and Rob Vaughn (coach of the year) leading the way, Maryland is one week removed from placing ten on the postseason All-Big Ten teams.
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