Maryland baseball annihilates Albany in game one of the series, 18-3

Leading 5-0 entering the bottom of the seventh, Eddie Hacopian stepped up to the plate to lead off. The sophomore first baseman delivered a solo shot over the left field line on the first pitch of the at bat for his second home run of the season. 

Bobby Zmarzlak delivered another solo home run in the next at bat, this one over the right field fence.

And the scoring wasn’t done for the Terps.

Three runs later in the bottom of the eighth, Nick Lorusso brought Luke Shliger home on a beaming double to right center. The Terps added four more runs in the inning — including three on a three-run blast off the bat of Matt Woods — as they blew the game open in the latter stages of the game.

After scoring just three runs in the first five innings, Maryland baseball (10-7) scored 15 in its final three innings at bat to comfortably cruise past Albany (2-8-1) in game one of the series, 18-3. 

“Once we string together some stuff behind the plate, you know, we’re a very dangerous team, and especially when pitching is on point,” Lorusso said.

The win is Maryland’s second by a margin of 15 runs this season.

Maryland got into scoring position early in the first inning. After two straight outs to begin the bottom frame of the first, redshirt junior left-hander Cregg Scherrer walked the next three batters, loading the bases for Woods. But the fifth-year right fielder struck out swinging on a 3-2 count, unable to convert on the golden scoring opportunity.

The Terps made up for the missed opportunity in the second. With runners on second and third, Lorusso hammered a two-RBI double into right center, giving the Terps an early two-run lead. 

“I think everybody on our team thinks that’s the most consistent at bat on our team,” coach Rob Vaughn said. “If you ask me…who I want up with the game on the line, I’m going to say Nick Lorusso everytime.”

The Great Danes couldn’t respond in the third as ace Jason Savacool mowed them down with a quick 1-2-3 inning. The junior right-hander entered with a 2-2 record and a 3.00 ERA in four starts.

The Terps added onto the lead in the third when Woods rocketed a home run into right center to make it 3-0.

The Terps got back in scoring position in the fifth with two outs. After second baseman Kevin Keister reached first on a throwing error, Hacopian advanced the junior to second with a single. Scherrer followed with a wild pitch, advancing the two to third and second. Scherrer was pulled after the wild pitch for redshirt freshman right-hander Matthew Mariano. 

Scherrer finished with four strikeouts, walking six batters and allowing three hits and runs. 

Mariano finished the inning the next at bat, freezing Zmarzlak with a strikeout. But he couldn’t replicate the performance in the sixth. 

Sophomore center fielder Elijah Lambros led off with a deep double into right center, and Shliger drew a walk in the next at bat to put runners on first and second for Maryland. Two batters later, junior shortstop Matt Shaw drove a 2-2 pitch down the left field line, bringing home Lambros and Shliger to extend the Maryland lead to 5-0. 

The Great Danes could not respond in the top of the seventh despite having a runner on third as Savacool struck out his seventh batter to end the inning. The seventh was Savacool’s last, and he finished with a masterful line as he allowed only four hits and walked just one batter in seven scoreless innings. 

“Jason was really efficient…he went [93] pitches for seven, so he was pretty efficient, getting a lot of quick outs,” Vaughn said.

Maryland extended its lead in the seventh with back-to-back home runs from Hacopian and Zmarzlak. The scoring wasn’t done, however, as a RBI sac fly from Lorusso a couple at bats later brought the lead to 8-0. 

The Terps continued to score in the bottom of the ninth, adding ten runs off of six hits. 

That span included RBI hit-by-pitches from Zmarzlak and Lambros in back-to-back at bats, Hacopian scoring on a passed ball, doubles from Shliger and Lorusso that brought home three, a Keister RBI single, and Woods’ second blast of the game.

Albany added three runs in the ninth but it was far too little too late, as the Terps won 18-3. 

Game two of the series is Saturday at 2 p.m.