Maryland baseball pushes past Rutgers in game one of the series, 6-4

Tied at three in the seventh, Nick Lorusso stepped to plate for Maryland baseball, looking to put the Terps ahead for the first time the whole game with two runners on.

Lorusso delivered, drilling a bomb over the tall center field wall with the eventual game-winning home run.

Lorusso’s homer gave Maryland (18-11, 3-1 B1G) the late push it needed to down Rutgers (15-14, 1-3 B1G), 6-4, in the Terps’ Big Ten home opener. 

“That’s what big time players do,” coach Rob Vaughn said of Lorusso. “He’s a special player and we’re very fortunate to have him here…sometimes your best players are going to be your best players and he was.”

Junior right-hander Jason Savacool got the start for the Terps, throwing 6.2 innings of three-run ball, allowing six hits and four walks while punching out three in the process. 

Junior left-hander Grant Besser started for Rutgers, allowing two runs in five innings of work.

The Scarlet Knights onto the board first. After two consecutive singles to open the top frame, sophomore shortstop Josh Kuroda-Grauer lined a groundout to second base, bringing home junior centerfielder Ryan Lasko. 

Savacool continued to struggle in the top frame, walking a batter with bases loaded to add another Rutgers run. The walk was his third of the inning, allowing two hits and hitting a batter as well. 

Savacool bounced back in the second, however, throwing a 1-2-3 frame on only ten pitches. 

“It took him a little while to settle in,” Vaughn said. “Once he settled in it was efficient, it was quick.”

The Terps got onto the board in the bottom half after Savacool’s clean top half. Senior left fielder Bobby Zmarzlak led off with a hit-by-pitch and advanced to third following a pickoff error. Junior second baseman Kevin Keister followed with a sac fly to center field, sending home Zmarzlak. 

Despite Savacool holding the Knights scoreless for the next two innings, the Terps were unable to get back onto the board while registering only one hit in the stretch. 

Rutgers got back onto the board with the first at bat in the fifth. Lasko launched a homer into left on the second pitch, extending the Scarlet Knights lead to 3-1. The solo shot was Lasko’s sixth of the season, and his fourth in his last seven games.

The Terps followed by threatening with scoring position with runners on second and third, but they couldn’t capitalize, recording two-straight outs to end the fifth. 

But Maryland made up for the missed opportunity the next inning. Junior shortstop Matt Shaw crushed a leadoff home run to center field to make it a one-run deficit again. The homer was Shaw’s 11th of the season.

“Something we’ve learned early on in this year is we have to just keep coming,” Shaw said. “For our offense, if we just keep kind of chipping away at something, that’s something we’ve been doing a really good job of and I think we are going to be really good in the future.”

Besser was pulled for junior right-hander Drew Conover following the home run. 

The scoring continued for the Terps following the home run as they got to Conover soon into his entrance. After advancing to second following two straight walks, Zmarzlak attempted to steal third when senior third baseman Chris Brito dropped the pickoff attempt. Zmarzlak then raced home, tying the game at three apiece. 

Zmarzlak finished the night with two runs scored, one hit by pitch, and a stolen base. 

The Terps continued their scoring in the bottom of the seventh. After a single and a walk to begin the inning, Lorusso crushed a three-run homer to center field to take a three-run lead, 6-3. 

Redshirt sophomore right-hander Nigel Belgrave preserved the lead for Maryland in the eighth, as he allowed just one run to score after replacing junior left-hander Tommy Kane with two runners in scoring position.

After a scoreless bottom of the eighth for Maryland, Belgrave closed the game in the ninth allowing only one hit, securing the victory. 

First pitch in game two of the series on Saturday is scheduled for 3 p.m.