By Alex Littlehales
Maryland baseball had a tough outing this weekend in Ann Arbor, as the Terps went 1-2 against the Wolverines in their first Big Ten away series of the season.
Despite the series loss, the No.11 Terps have plenty to hold their heads high about. Maryland still remains No.1 in the Big Ten Standings, ahead of Ohio State and Nebraska. Maryland also obtained a team milestone, as head coach John Szefc picked up his 300th career victory, his 88th while at Maryland.
The series was split between a double header followed by a third game the following day.
The first of the double header was a low scoring grind-it-out game that came down to the play of the sophomores. The Terps received fantastic play from rising sophomore pitcher Mike Shawaryn, who pitched a total of 7 and 1/3 innings. He let up a lone run, with only 5 hits while tallying 7 strikeouts. The Terps offense complimented Shawaryn nicely, with an economic 3 runs on 5 hits. Sophomore second baseman and leading hitter Brandon Lowe contributed for 3 runs with 2 RBI’s and a run.
Maryland was unable to capitalize on the momentum in the second game, as the Wolverines silenced the visiting Terps 10-1. Michigan’s Jacob Croneworth hit a two-run homer in the third inning to make it 2-0, and the Wolverines would tally 8 runs in the fifth alone. Despite 6 team hits and freshman Jamal Wade’s lone homerun, the Terps had fell into a hole too deep to climb back from.
Although allowing only half as many runs the next day, the Terps lost the final game of the series 5-2. Maryland fell behind early, and was unable to get the offense rolling in time before the game’s end. Despite six hits and loaded bases, the Terps couldn’t convert them into enough runs.
The Terps are 4-2 in conference play, and return home to play James Madison this Wednesday at 4 p.m.
