Maryland baseball tops Michigan State in extra innings, 7-6

Maryland baseball gave up the lead in the top of the ninth. Michigan State then took the lead in the top of the tenth.

But the Terps’ bats kept swinging. Brayden Martin lined the second pitch he saw with the bases loaded in the bottom of the tenth down the right field line, scoring two runs to walk it off for Maryland.

“[I was] definitely going in their thinking fastball,” Martin said. “The pressure is on him…and [with the] bases loaded, he can’t really put me on.”

The Terps secured the walk-off win over the Spartans at home on Friday, 7-6. The victory gave Maryland (17-5, 1-0 Big Ten) its first Big Ten win of the year and kept the Terps undefeated at home.

The Maryland offense showcased its depth against the Spartans. Five players recorded at least one RBI and six batters recorded at least two hits. But coach Matt Swope said that despite the team’s performance he wanted to see more from the offense with runners in scoring position.

“We had a guy on third base three times with less than two outs and didn’t convert at all,” Swope said. “We just have to be tougher in those moments and push those guys across.”

Maryland’s starting pitcher, Kenny Lippman, had struggled in his last two outings. He allowed eight earned runs over 5.1 innings pitched. 

Lippman’s struggles continued early against Michigan State (8-11, 0-1 Big Ten), as the Spartans were aggressive early and often in the count. They wore out the left-center field gap with four doubles in the opening frame to grow an early 3-0 lead.

But Lippman settled in after the early frame, allowing just three hits through his next five innings. Lippman finished the game with six innings thrown, allowing just three runs on eight hits with four strikeouts.

“We kinda let him down a little bit in the first,” Swope said. “But I really appreciate the way he battled.”

Trystan Sarcone relieved Lippman to start the seventh inning, and the Spartans immediately took advantage of Lippman’s absence. Sam Thompson lined a 2-2 pitch just over the left field fence to pull the Spartans within one run.

But similar to Lippman’s performance, Sarcone settled in after his first inning, allowing just one hit through the game’s final 2.1 innings.

Sarcone was removed with a man on first and an 0-2 count in the top of the ninth inning in favor of Logan Berrier. Berrier struck out the first pitch he saw, but a wild pitch allowed the runner to move into scoring position. And Thompson delivered a base hit just out of the reach of a diving Sam Hojnar with the Spartans down to their final strike, evening the game at five.

Berrier’s second wild pitch in as many innings allowed Dillon Kark to regain the lead for Michigan State in the tenth frame. 

One of last year’s Big Ten All-Freshman Team pitchers — Joseph Dzierwa — was stingy early against the Terps. He stranded seven runners in scoring position through his first three innings and frustrated the Maryland offense.

The Terps failed to score with runners in scoring position in the first frame, but freshman Jordan Crossland wasted no time getting the Terps on the board. Crossland jumped on the first pitch of his at-bat, ripping a line drive over the left field fence.

Maryland exploded in the fourth inning. Doubles from Devin Russell and Chris Hacopian cut the deficit to one, and Jacob Orr followed with the Terps’ second home run of the game, putting Maryland ahead 4-3. 

The Terps’ three-run inning was the last frame Dzierwa pitched in. 

Maryland added to its lead the following inning as Elijah Lambros scored Crossland on an infield hit on a bunt down the first base line. But the Terps’ offense was then silenced, as Michigan State reliever Noah Matheny pitched four consecutive no-hit innings and allowed the Spartans to stage a comeback.

But Martin gave Maryland its biggest hit of the game to secure the win.

The Terps will look to take the series tomorrow against Michigan State. First pitch is at 6 p.m.