With postseason play on the horizon, Maryland baseball looked to close out its series against Iowa on a high note. The Terps entered as the only team in the Big Ten without a road win this season.
But that changed on Sunday.
Fueled by three separate multi-score innings, the Terps defeated the Hawkeyes 16-5 on a run-rule win. The victory helped Maryland avoid its third consecutive series sweep on the road.
In a season where Maryland’s starting rotation has been anything but consistent, Brayden Ryan got the start and was solid throughout the game. Ryan pitched five innings and logged three consecutive scoreless frames after allowing a first-inning run.
“He was awesome throughout the start. He was pounding the zone, I thought he had a 96 which was the hardest he threw all year. Just a guy taking opportunities to start and that’s two good starts for us in a row,” head coach Matt Swope said.
However, Ryan ran into trouble in the fifth, allowing two doubles, a single and a walk to plate three Hawkeye runs.
The Terps’ offense was relatively quiet until the fifth, when freshman Nate Hawton-Henley drove in David Mendez on a single. Maryland quickly loaded up the bases after being on the right end of some “freebies.” Paul Jones II roped a two-RBI single into right field, followed by Mendez’s extra-base hit to drive in two more runs. That gave the Terps a 5-1 advantage.
Mendez finished 3-for-5 at the plate in likely his best offensive showing of the season. While the junior second baseman is batting .305 on the season, he was just a homer away from the cycle.
After a dormant sixth, the Terps’ offense heated up again in the seventh. Maryland went station-to-station, batting around the order and knocking in seven runs to give them a commanding 12-5 lead.
“ I thought we did a great job bouncing back and responding. Even early on when we didn’t score we had good at bats. The guys did a great job pushing through,” Swope said.
Lance Williams once again came out of the Terps’ bullpen for the sixth. He had the bases loaded and managed to get out of it, including a huge punch out to record the second out.
Williams went the rest of the way in the contest, earning him a three-inning save to collect his first of the season. He only allowed one run and fanned three batters.
Maryland’s offense sent the dagger in the eighth inning, plating four more runs — highlighted by a triple from freshman Ty Kaunas to give Maryland a 16-5 win. Kaunas attempted to go for the inside-the-park home run but was gunned down at home.
The Terps hit .500 with runners on base and .529 with runners in scoring position to give them easily their best offensive performance in conference play this year.
“It’s no secret we are trying to make the Big 10 tournament so we aren’t going to settle for anything,” Swope said.
The Terps showed what kind of offense they can be as they look to push for the postseason with multiple conference series left.
