Maryland baseball drops series opener against Troy, 5-2
· Yahoo Sports
In the top of both the fourth and sixth innings, Maryland baseball loaded the bases — just one hit away from gaining the lead or catching up. Both times, the batter failed to outduel the pitcher, sending everyone back to the dugout.
An inability to follow through ultimately cost Maryland its fifth loss of the season, a 5-2 defeat against the Trojans.
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The last time Maryland baseball saw six scoreless innings was against University of Louisiana-Lafayette on Feb. 21. Louisiana dominated, with a 9-1 thrashing curbing any chance of winning the series for the Terps.
Against Troy University on Friday, a similar fate took shape.
Troy pitcher Tommy Egan posed a serious threat for Maryland’s batters. In his five-inning scoreless tenure on the mound, Egan struck out two-thirds of Maryland’s lineup, and he got Jordan Crosland twice.
Lance Williams bounced back from his eight-run, four-inning outing a week ago against Wagner. The sophomore recorded 10 strikeouts in six innings — five more than his performance against Wagner.
“For the most part, Lance was dominating,” Swope said.
Troy’s Aaron Piasecki pushed the Trojans into the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. The center fielder knocked a bomb 345 feet from home over the right-field fence.
His home run, which brought home Blake Cavill and Jimmy Janicki, put the Terps in a three-run hole they could not dig out of.
Maryland’s chance at taking the lead slid further away just one inning later, after Troy’s Zaid Diaz hit a line drive toward first base. First baseman Paul Jones II went diving for it, but the ball flew over his head as he hit the ground, opening the door for a runner to score from second base.
Cristofer Cespedes relieved Lance Williams after six innings, marking his sixth mound appearance so far this season.
The sophomore almost made things worse for the Terps in his one inning. Cespedes walked two batters and hit one with a pitch, but he escaped the bases-loaded jam.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, with runners on first and second, Troy’s Nolan Book singled up the middle on a 1-0 count. Second baseman David Mendez attempted to make the acrobatic snag, but also hit the ground without the ball in his glove.
Again, a missed dive on a grounder up the middle allowed the Trojan on second base to run home on a single.
Maryland struggled on offense as well. The Terps only connected with the ball seven times in 32 total at-bats.
Mendez’s fifth at-bat deep in the ninth inning spared some blushes, though. Staring down Troy relief pitcher Cooper Ellingworth with a 1-0 count, the second baseman swung, hitting a rocket that bounced on the track in deep left field.
Both Jordan Crosland and Brayden Martin were able to round the bases, cutting Troy’s impending shutout short. But with two outs already on the board, a simple ground out against Ryan Costello cost the Terps the game.
Three things to know
1. Bright spot in a dark lineup. Shortstop Ty Kaunas continued to be a bright spot in Maryland’s lineup. The freshman was the only Terp to log more than one hit, going 2-for-4 in the batter’s box.
“[Kaunas]’s a special talent,” Swope said. “I couldn’t be happier that he’s here.”
2. Aggression takes a backseat. The Terps’ game against Troy marks the first Friday that no Terps stole any bases, only the third game where no base-stealing attempts were made.
3. Continued struggles away. Friday marks Maryland’s fourth consecutive weekend away loss. The Terps have two more games in Alabama to cut that streak.