Photo courtesy of Kate Eagen/Maryland Athletics.
Going into the fourth inning, Maryland baseball was down 2-1 to Georgetown and turning to their bullpen. The Hoyas appeared to have the upper hand – but then the Terps offense came alive.
Maryland (3-1, 0-0 B1G) dominated Georgetown (1-3, 0-0 Big East) on Tuesday afternoon, winning its home opener 16-3 behind an explosive fifth inning that saw nine different Terps cross the plate.
Both teams started strong defensively, with only three combined runs through three innings.
Junior southpaw Landon Edwards got the start on the mound for Maryland. He had an efficient first inning, forcing two ground outs and finishing with a strikeout to retire the Hoyas in order.
The Terps’ bats started hot. Junior Brayden Martin drove a ball to deep right and ended up on third. Ty Kaunas drove him in with a double – giving him doubles in back-to-back games – and putting Maryland up 1-0 in the first.
“He’s just unflappable,” said coach Matt Swope when asked about Kaunas. “He’s one of those guys who shows up early everyday; nothing fazes him.”
That was the only run Hoyas pitcher Charlie Hendrix would allow through the first three innings – he only struck one batter out, but was able to avoid hard contact.
Georgetown tied the game off a sacrifice fly from Connor Price, and a solo home run from Ashton Seymore gave the Hoyas a 2-1 lead in the second inning.
Bullpen performance was the big difference in the middle innings.
Edwards’ night was done after three innings, and junior Brayden Ryan took the mound for the Terps. He had three clean innings in a row, sending nine straight Georgetown batters back to the dugout.
Hendrix was pulled after three and a third innings pitched. Hoyas senior Andrew Jergins took the mound, with Rylen Stockton on second. A single from Paul Jones II put runners on the corners for Maryland, and Jackson Sirois was able to outrun a potential double play to tie the game up at two.
In the fifth inning, Marshall Whitmer took the mound for Georgetown. He gave up a single and a double to the first two batters he faced, putting runners in scoring position for the Terps.
Kaunas ripped his second double of the game, scoring both Maryland runners. Freshman Ryan Costello immediately followed with a home run to add two more, extending the lead to 6-2 and ending Whitmer’s night early.
Junior Jack Volo didn’t fare any better for the Hoyas, loading the bases and walking Stockton home. The nightmare inning continued for Georgetown – a dropped fly ball allowed three more runners to cross home plate.
A RBI single for Martin capped a monstrous fifth for the Terps – Maryland ended the inning with an 11-2 lead.
The Hoyas broke their 10 batter out streak with a walk in the sixth inning, and it looked like they could add a run to the board. Seymour drove a ball past Jones II at first and Ashtin Gilio rounded third, but a perfect relay that started with Martin ended with Gilio gunned down at the plate.
After a scoreless sixth, the Terps offense got back to work in the seventh. Junior Antonio Morales drove one over the fence in dead center for a solo shot, extending the lead to double digits. Another error from Georgetown allowed David Mendez to get home.
Kaunas continued his great game with another run, courtesy of an RBI double from Jordan Crosland to stretch Maryland’s lead to 14-2.
Maryland would tack on two more runs in the eighth inning, scoring 15 unanswered. Georgetown added a run in the ninth, making the final score 16-3.
“Pretty dominant all around,” Swope said. “Pitching, defense, timely hitting…not much more you could ask for.”
Maryland will look to carry its momentum into the weekend for a three game series against Louisiana. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m.
