Maryland baseball has entered Sunday without winning a Big Ten series in 2026, but the rubber match with Indiana offers the chance to change that. 

Down two runs with just one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, the Terps had a chance to right their wrongs. 

Catcher Devin Russel walked up to the plate and worked a 3-1 hitters count. That gave him the advantage he needed to smoke a walk-off grand slam to center field to win 8-6, and clinch the Terps’ first Big Ten series win at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium

Devin Russell smoked a walk-off grand slam to win it over the centerfield wall and give the Terps their first Big Ten series win, 8-6.

“Once we got the guys on base, I kinda knew I was gonna [hit a home run],” Russell said. “I was seeing the heater well and stayed calm. I knew one swing could win it for us.” 

Russell walked off the Terps in Saturday’s win with a bomb to clinch the run-rule win, and Sunday, he cleared the wall to give the Terps a much-needed series win. 

“Devin wants to start and be a starter here,” head coach Matt Swope said. “He even threw a bullpen last week because we were down on arms. That’s the kind of selfless guy he is.”

The Terps sat at the bottom of the Big Ten standings, but sat only three games back of the 13th-place Hoosiers. Only the top 12 teams make the Big Ten tournament.

In a bullpen day for the Terps, Brayden Ryan got the start and was followed by five different Terp relievers, including a typical starter, Lance Williams. 

Williams pitched 2 and 2/3 innings and threw 54 pitches, much longer than his previous relief appearances, where he lasted just one inning. 

“I think he likes getting out there and just ripping it,” Swope said. “He’s really good when he can just get out there, rip it, and not have to think about it.”

The starter, Ryan, went three innings and allowed only one run. 

Swope has harped all season long on his team frequently giving opponents what he calls “feebies”, meaning walks, errors and hit by pitches. The Terps allowed only two “freebies” over four innings, but both came across to score. A third freebie mixed in on a failed pickoff attempt by Austin Weiss that sailed over Paul Jones II’s head, scoring a runner from first to home.

These three freebies bookended a three-run fifth from the Hoosiers, when Andrew Koshy came in and faced three batters, all of which scored off two Hoosier long balls. 

A concerning sign for the Terps pitching staff when reliever the freshman Weiss fired a pitch into the backstop, and immediately gripped his forearm and signaled for the trainer. He left the game and was replaced by the previously mentioned Williams.

Maryland came out on fire offensively, plating two runs in the first inning and making Indiana starter Brayton Thomas throw 38 pitches. 

The Terps went cold for much of the game, batting an abysmal two for eleven with runners in scoring position (.182) and one for five with the bases loaded until Russell’s heroics. 

The Terps left 11 different runners on base until the ninth, when a single by Stockton and two walks issued to David Mendez and Nate Hawton-Henley set the stage for Russell to deliver.

“We deserved that. It’s been a tough season and I am so proud of these guys man,” Swope said. 

Maryland’s first conference series win in dramatic fashion looks to be the kickstart to this season.