Stepping up to the plate with an 11-5 lead, Matt Shaw was the only Maryland batter who had failed to reach base amidst an offensive clinic.
Shaw must have felt left out, because the junior shortstop proceeded to smash a ball 418 feet — well over the barbed-wire fence in left field that contained Maryland’s bullpen — before admiring his shot, flipping his bat and slowly trotting around the bases.
The ball rocketed off the bat at a speed of 111.4 miles per hour, adding onto an explosive 18-hit performance by the Terps and putting the finishing touches on Maryland baseball’s (13-9) eventual 16-6 victory over UCF (16-7) on Saturday.
“We were really good with two outs today and runners in scoring position, something that’s kind of eluded us over the first month of the season,” coach Rob Vaughn said. “So I thought it was just a really complete effort by the offense.”
With the offense clicking all night, putting up six runs through the first four innings, it was a perfect opportunity for senior Nick Dean to get back on track in his start.
Dean had posted a career-worst 6.39 ERA through five games entering Saturday, including eight earned runs allowed in his last two against Maine and Albany. The right-hander had allowed less than four runs in a start just once this season: The opening weekend at USF.
Dean got off to a strong start, recording two straight one-two-three innings to start the game on just 24 pitches. Dean gained a sense of comfortability on the bump with an early cushion of run support.
But he quickly ran into trouble after a perfect 2.1 innings of work.
Freshman outfielder Brady Shannon singled up the middle with one out in the third. Redshirt senior outfielder John Rhys Plumlee quickly followed up with a bomb to left-center field, evening the score at two.
After throwing just 24 pitches through two frames, the Knights made Dean work in a rough third inning. UCF recorded three hits and two runs and Dean’s pitch count ballooned up to 52.
Dean’s struggles continued to open up the fourth inning following a rocky third. He failed to record an out, allowing a two-run homer and another baserunner before being pulled for fifth-year right-hander Kenny Lippman.
“I didn’t think Dean’s breaking ball was great tonight,” Vaughn said. “His fastball velocity was down just a tick.”
Dean once again allowed four runs, striking out two but allowing seven baserunners in three innings of work. It was Dean’s shortest outing of the season, and his ERA rose to just below seven on the year.
“I think the good news for us,” Vaughn said, “is outside of his first start, I don’t think we’ve had the best version of Nick Dean, which is dangerous for the Big Ten.”
With the disappointing outing by Dean, it was the offense that stepped up in dramatic fashion. After putting up a sluggish two runs on Friday night, Vaughn’s squad reached that tally by the top of the second inning in game two of the series.
Fifth-year right fielder Matt Woods and sophomore first baseman Eddie Hacopian sent in the first runs of the game with RBI knocks to give Maryland an early 2-0 lead.
Maryland tripled its run total in the fourth inning, hitting three extra base hits including a Nick Lorusso two-run shot to extend its lead, 6-2.
The blast was Lorusso’s team-leading ninth home run of the season.
The Maryland offense continued to hum in the fifth, putting together its strongest inning yet. The Terps recorded four hits and three runs, namely another timely hit off the bat of Hacopian.
The Cypress College transfer singled on a blooper to left, bringing in junior second baseman Kevin Keister and sophomore designated hitter Ian Petrutz. Hacopian continued the hot streak that has seen his batting average climb above .300, recording three RBIs on the night.
The Terps extended their lead to five runs by the end of the fifth, holding a 9-5 advantage over the Knights.
The game was broken open in the seventh when the Terps put together their second four-run inning of the night. Lorusso drove in one with a single, Shaw followed up with a two-run bomb to left, and the Maryland lead was quickly 13-5.
The Terps put up three more late runs and came out victorious in a convincing game two victory over the Knights, setting up a Sunday rubber match in Orlando.
“We just talk about 27 relentless outs, and our outs tonight were loud,” Vaughn said.
