A rotten ninth inning spoiled an otherwise well-played game by Maryland baseball.
The Terps headed into the ninth inning with a three-run lead, looking to cruise to victory.
That wasn’t the case. Louisiana scored four runs and completed a comeback to defeat Maryland, 7-6.
Friday night felt like deja vu for the Terps. In its second series against Western Carolina in 2025, Maryland blew a four-run lead in the seventh inning and lost by one run.
But the loss to Louisiana might have been a bigger gut punch.
“That’s a tough one to lose. There’s not much to say after that,” head coach Matt Swope said, “It’s a learning situation and take it for what it is.”
Blaze Rodriguez’s walk-off walk gave Louisiana the win in what can be considered the worst loss for Maryland early on this season.
Cristofer Cespedes was brought in to the sixth inning with hopes of closing the game. He got close, but the ninth blew up in his face.
He first loaded the bases and gave up an RBI single to pinch-hitter Trip Dobson. Then, Jayson Torres came in with the bases still loaded and immediately hit a batter, bringing home another run. He followed that up with a walk, allowing Louisiana to tie the game.
With backs against the wall, head coach Matt Swope turned to Ryan Bailey for any sort of life. He faced a near-impossible situation: bases loaded, no outs.
Thus, Bailey walked the first batter he faced to give the Ragin’ Cajuns the win.
Lance Williams made the start for the Terps and picked up right where he left off after his great outing last weekend.
He pitched 4 2/3 innings and gave up just one earned run while striking out five batters.
Louisiana starter Ty Roman shut down the Terps early, until he ran into trouble in the third.
After Brayden Martin and Ty Kaunas reached, the red-hot Ryan Costello stepped up to the plate and crushed a ball deep to right field for a three-run home run.
The Terps continued their theme of moonshots in the fourth, this time off the bat of David Mendez.
He sent a ball to deep left field for his first home run as a Terp.
Mendez had a great day for the Terps, reaching base three times, including two hits.
However, the Ragin’ Cajuns punched back.
After Louisiana scored one in the fifth off a fielder’s choice, Colt Brown and Griffin Hebert both lined RBI singles off of reliever Cespedes in the sixth to bring the Terps lead down to one.
But the Terps responded in the seventh.
Paul Jones II came in to pinch hit with two outs and two runners in scoring position, and he delivered. Jones smoked a ball off the wall in the right-center gap, plating both runners and extending the Terps lead.
Tyler Papenbrock came in for Louisiana and shut down the Terps offense throughout the last two innings.
He struck out four Terps over 1 2/3 innings and allowed just one baserunner.
Cespedes looked much better over the next couple of innings, shutting the Ragin’ Cajuns down, as they went six up, six down.
But his success didn’t last. He ultimately blew the game in the ninth inning, and he was responsible for six earned runs.
For Maryland, Friday’s loss was the first of its kind in 2026. But if the bullpen can’t hold up, this could be a sign for things to come.
