Maryland baseball overwhelmed by Indiana in 11-3 loss

Photo courtesy of Kevin Snyder/Maryland Athletics.

Maryland wanted to get back on the right track in conference play after getting swept in its last Big Ten series. That didn’t happen in the opener against Indiana on Friday night.

The Terps (15-19, 2-11 B1G) were overwhelmed by the Hoosiers(14-19, 6-10 B1G), losing 11-3 behind a six-run inning from Indiana.

Evan Smith got the start on the mound for Maryland. The left-hander came into the game with a 0-3 record – his most recent loss came against Ohio State on April 3.

The Hoosiers got the scoring started quickly with a first pitch longball from sophomore catcher Hogan Denny – his seventh on the season.

Denny added another hit, walk, and was hit by pitch – he reached on four of his six plate appearances.

The Hoosiers hit two other leadoff home runs in the game – one in the fourth and one in the sixth.

Smith struggled early, giving up three straight hits in the second and bringing another runner across home plate.

Indiana threatened again in the third inning, loading the bases with two outs – Smith escaped the jam with his second strikeout of the game.

His night would end in the sixth inning. The sophomore’s final line involved six earned runs on seven hits and three walks.

Cristofer Cespedes entered in relief, inheriting runners on first and second with no outs.

The Hoosiers continued adding to their lead, with two more home runs to make it 9-1. Five different Indiana batters went yard in the game – an impressive slugging performance for the team with the third fewest home runs in the conference.

They added two more runs in the ninth, hitting double digits, but the six-run sixth inning ultimately proved to be the deciding factor.

Tony Neubeck started for the Hoosiers. In his last appearance, the left-hander went six innings in a shutout performance against Rutgers.

Sophomore Rylen Stockton got the scoring started for the Terps in the second inning with a solo shot over the right wall. The transfer catcher had six homers on the season coming into the game, his most recent coming earlier in the week against UMBC.

Maryland would find a lead off home run of their own in the seventh inning. Paul Jones II sent a ball over the left field wall, breaking a scoreless streak of four innings for the Terps.

A bobble from the Indiana defense gave Nate Hawton-Henley the time to cross home plate and add a second run in the seventh frame, cutting the lead to 9-3.

Sophomore Jordan Crosland was the only Maryland batter to record multiple hits, knocking two singles and a double. He continued his hot streak with another RBI – his tenth of the month.

Junior Brayden Martin barely avoided losing his 63 game on base streak – he reached on a hit by pitch. 

The Terps need to find their offense soon if they want to improve their conference record, which remains the worst in the Big Ten.

Maryland’s next opportunity to do so is on Saturday – game two against Indiana is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.