Blog from Todd Carton
In 2014, Maryland’s baseball season likely plunged to the vertex of the parabolic arc of its season in a late April series when the Terps dropped three straight to Boston College in Chestnut Hill followed by a 6-2 loss at home to James Madison. Those losses left the Terrapins in danger of posting a third consecutive thirty win season for the first time in program history but still being on the outside looking in at the NCAA Tournament.
Playing with some desperations, they then ripped off 11 straight wins before the streak ended at the ACC Tournament. They recovered from that disappointment by sweeping through the NCAA Regional at South Carolina and winning the first game of the Super Regional at Charlottesville before falling to eventual NCAA Finalist Virginia.
Just a week earlier on the calendar of the 2015 season, Maryland suffered a three game losing streak that began with a 10 inning shutout loss to Cal State Fullerton and ended with back to back losses to a decidedly middle of the pack VCU squad. While those losses have the potential to hurt Maryland’s seeding and diminish the possibility of hosting a Regional, the Terps Will Likely find a spot in the NCAA field.
After their performance in the last four games, one might wonder if the Terps are priming their fans for another late season run. In their most recent Big Ten weekend series, Maryland traveled to West Lafayette and swept the Purdue Boilermakers. Tuesday afternoon, the Terrapins returned home for the first of a two game home and home series with the Delaware Blue Hens.
The Terps again took care of business and extended their current winning streak to four games.
Maryland sent Brian Shaffer to the hill to start the game. The freshman had made five previous starts and carried a 5.17 ERA into the contest. Shaffer gave the Terps a strong five inning outing. After retiring the first 10 batters to start the game, he gave up a one out single in the top of the fourth. He gave up two more singles in the fifth ending his stint having given up just the three hits while walking none and striking out five.
He left the game with the Terps leading 2-0. Maryland had scratched out a run in the home third on Jose Cuas’ one out single to right after they had loaded the bases without benefit of a hit. The Terps didn’t have to work quite so hard for their second run when freshman shortstop Kevin Smith sent a long fly over the fence in left center for his fifth home run of the season.
The Terps extended the lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the sixth. The rally started with one out when Jamal Wade tripled off the fence in left. The Blue Hens intentionally walked Willie Rios who advanced to second on a safety squeeze. With two on and two out, Jamal’s older brother LaMonte pulled a single into right. Both runners scored but Wade got caught in a rundown trying to take second on the throw to the plate.
Delaware put three on the board in the seventh attributable in large part to two infield singles, a Maryland error and a wild pitch as the Terps got out of the inning clinging to a 4-3 lead. The Terps got an insurance run when Cuas led off the bottom of the eighth with a massive shot that banged off the scoreboard in left. Kevin Mooney, Maryland’s all time leader in saves, had come on to start the eighth. The right hander, a junior from Forest Hill, MD, retired all six batters he faced striking out three en route to earning the six out save – his fifth of the season and 27th of his career.
The teams will face off again on Wednesday in Newark at 3:00 pm. The Terps will then return to College Park for an important three game set against the Indiana Hoosiers in their final home B1G series of the season.Another NCAA
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