Maryland baseball squeaks by Purdue in game two of series, 6-5

Nick Lorusso stepped to the dish for Maryland baseball with two on in the bottom of the fourth inning, looking to put the Terps ahead as he has many times this season.

Lorusso did just that.

The senior third baseman crushed a three-run, go-ahead homer over the wall in center. 

Matt Shaw followed up Lorusso’s blast with one of his own, a solo shot on the first pitch of the next at bat. 

The four-run fourth inning proved pivotal for the Terps (24-15, 7-4 Big Ten) to push past Purdue (19-19, 8-6) at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium, 6-5.

The outing started on Saturday but due to thunderstorms in between the top and bottom half of the seventh inning, was temporarily suspended until Sunday morning.

Freshman left-hander Kyle McCoy started for Maryland, throwing six innings of five-run ball, albeit just two were earned. McCoy struck out five in the process. 

Jonathan Blackwell got the nod for Purdue. The junior left-hander allowed six runs on seven hits and five walks, punching out only two in three innings.

The Boilermakers struck first in the second inning with contributions from a pair of seniors. First baseman Jake Parr started the inning with a leadoff single, advancing to third following the next two at bats. Designated hitter CJ Valdez then drove Parr home with an RBI single up the middle, earning the first run of the game. 

Purdue continued scoring in the third after a poor defensive inning by Maryland. 

Left fielder Mike Bolton Jr. reached first after shortstop Shaw airmailed the pass to first base. The junior entered the game with only five errors on the season, but exited with two more.

Bolton continued his trip around the bases during the next at bat, stealing second and then advancing to home on a Luke Shliger error behind the dish. The senior crossed home the next at bat after an RBI groundout by junior center fielder Couper Cornblum. 

But the Boilermakers’ two-run lead was short lived.

With runners at the corners in the bottom of the third frame, sophomore first baseman Eddie Hacopian singled through the right side, sending home Shaw from third. Fifth-year right fielder Matt Woods drove a double into left center the following at bat, bringing home the Terps’ second run of the day to tie the score even at two.

It was the first game for Woods since April 4th, who had been sidelined by a concussion. Woods was hitting .305 with five homer runs prior to the injury.  

Purdue promptly retook the lead in the top of the fourth. Junior third baseman Jo Stevens notched an RBI groundout with two runners on base to retake the lead, and Valdez brought home another run after singling a single down the left field line.

The Terps had an answer again, delivering back-to-back homers in the bottom half of the inning. Lorusso crushed a three-run homer — his 15th home run of the season — for the first Maryland lead of the game. Shaw homered on the very next pitch, giving Maryland its first lead of the game at 6-4.

The home runs spelled the end of Blackwell’s day, getting pulled for junior right-hander Davis Pratt. 

The Boilermakers brought a run home the next inning following a misplayed ball at the center field wall by Elijah Lambros, giving junior catcher Connor Caskenette enough time to reach home from second. 

McCoy struck out two in a scoreless sixth frame, getting pulled for fifth-year right-hander Kenny Lippman before the seventh.

Lippman kept Purdue scoreless in the seventh, before a thunderstorm suspended the game until the next morning. 

Nigel Belgrave fired two shutout innings the next morning, closing the victory for the Terps to set the stage for a rubber match only a few hours later.