Maryland baseball defeats Albany 4-0 to secure series win

Maryland baseball entered Sunday looking to rebound following a tough 6-3 loss to Albany and win the rubber match of its weekend series.

Led by the pitching combination of Kyle McCoy and Nate Haberthier, the Terps did just that.

The duo combined for only two hits, striking out nine batters and walking only one in the shutout game. 

McCoy started, throwing five innings with Haberthier pitching the final four.

The dominant pitching performance led the Terps to a 4-0 win Sunday afternoon at ‘The Bob,’ clinching their second weekend series victory in a row. The win improved Maryland to 11-8, while Albany dropped to 3-9-1 on the season.

“Those two guys just kept pounding the strike zone,” coach Rob Vaughn said. “They were ahead of hitters, they were sinking the baseball… I thought those guys were outstanding.”

The combination pitched seven innings total in last Sunday’s 9-1 win over Maine. Like against Albany, McCoy and Haberthier had an efficient outing, combining to allow only three hits and one run alongside 11 strikeouts. 

While the tandem was masterful, they ran into trouble in the second inning as the Great Danes got into scoring position with one out after redshirt junior catcher Chris Fisher lined a double down the left field line. He advanced to third after a groundout, but was stranded there on another groundout to end the frame.

The Terps followed by getting runners in scoring position as well in the bottom half after singles from fifth year right fielder Matt Woods and sophomore first baseman Eddie Hacopian. But Maryland couldn’t capitalize either as senior left fielder Bobby Zmarzlak grounded out to short to end the scoring threat.

But Maryland made up for it the next inning when junior catcher Luke Shliger drove sophomore center fielder Elijah Lambros home on a double into deep left, giving the Terps a 1-0 lead as they struck first in the third.

Shliger had a productive series against Albany, scoring five runs himself while adding another three RBIs.

Senior third baseman Nick Lorusso continued the scoring the next at bat, driving a single through the right side to bring Shliger home for a 2-0 lead. 

The third was Albany starting pitcher Thoman Quinn’s last, getting pulled for freshman right-hander Ryan Pittz. The redshirt sophomore left-hander pitched 3.0 innings, striking out three but walking two batters and allowing four hits. 

McCoy held Albany hitless for the next three innings after the Terps’ scores, adding four strikeouts in the process. The fifth was the last for McCoy, getting pulled for the junior right-hander Haberthier. The freshman left-hander finished with five strikeouts total, allowing only one hit and one walk in the process.

“That’s the guy that’s gonna really lead the charge force as we move into the future here,” Vaughn said. “He[‘s] starting to grab a hold of that now, which we knew he would.”

Maryland threatened with a runner in scoring position again in the sixth after a leadoff double by sophomore designated hitter Ian Petrutz. Three at bats and two outs later, Petrutz stole third during a Lambros at bat, but Lambros couldn’t bring him home as he grounded out to end the inning. 

Haberthier immediately made his presence known in the game, striking out four batters in three straight 1-2-3 innings against the Great Danes’ lineup. 

Haberthier entered the day with a 6.61 ERA in four games with a 2-2 record, but looked dominant against Albany.

Maryland extended its lead in the bottom of the seventh. With Lorusso on first, junior shortstop Matt Shaw launched a two-run home run over the wall in center, increasing the Terps lead to four. 

Shaw, a top projected MLB pick, is hitting .315 on the season with 17 runs, 12 RBIs and four homers.

Haberthier closed the game in the ninth, allowing only a hit as he earned the win.  

“There was no way Nate was coming out of the game,” Vaughn said. “He was throwing the baseball, he was attacking guys, throwing a ton of strikes…that was Nate’s game to finish.”

The Terps will stay in College Park for a matchup against George Washington Tuesday at 4 p.m.