Photo by Dylan Davies/Maryland Terrapins
With runners on second and third and only one out in the top of the eighth, Maryland baseball went to the bullpen.
The Terps brought in freshman Cristofer Cespedes to preserve their one-run lead. Cespedes did just that, inducing two consecutive outs in the eighth inning and closing the game out in the final frame.
Maryland (25-27, 10-16 Big Ten) would take that lead and never look back, edging past Minnesota (22-26, 8-18 Big Ten) on Saturday, 8-5 at Siebert Field. The win secures the Terps’ second straight Big Ten series.
“Play every game like it’s game seven of the World Series, Cespedes said on the team’s mentality. “[We need to] leave everything on the field, and play with no regrets.”
On the mound to start the game for Maryland was sophomore Joey McMannis. The sophomore had pitched at least four innings in each of his prior three starts. But on Saturday, he failed to reach that benchmark
McMannis struggled to avoid bats against the Gophers, surrendering six hits through just 3.1 innings. The right-hander then compounded his struggles by committing two errors on pick-off attempts, enabling the Gophers to score five runs.
“[When] picking off, I’ve never seen so many balls thrown away in a season,” head coach Matt Swope said. “But at this point of the year, it’s clear we haven’t really executed at an extremely high level.”
Maryland’s bullpen had failed to halt the momentum in prior games this season, but it bucked that trend when freshman Logan Hastings relieved McMannis in the fourth inning. Hastings came in and retired ten straight batters after allowing a hit in his first at-bat in the game.
Hastings has spent the last month coming out of the bullpen, with his last start coming on April 5 against Illinois. Over his last four outings, he pitched 8.2 innings, allowed two earned runs while striking out six.
When Hastings began to falter in the eighth inning, Maryland’s bullpen continued to thrive in high-leverage situations. Cespedes got the Terps out of an eighth-inning jam and stranded three more runners in the ninth.
“I have a job to do and that is go out there and get guys out,” Cespedes said.
On the mound for the Gophers was sophomore Kyle Remington. Despite throwing at least five innings in four of his past five outings, Remington had been prone to traffic on the basepaths, averaging nearly six runners each outing. That trend continued as the Terps put seven runners on base through just two innings.
The Terps started quickly on Friday and did so again in Saturday’s contest. In the second inning, Maryland strung together four straight two-out hits, giving the Terps a 4-2 lead.
The game was tied at five in the top of the sixth inning before Chris Hacopian blasted a go-ahead home run to the center field batter’s eye.
Hacopian continued his hot streak after a home run on Friday’s win and two home runs in the prior weekend series against Penn State. In the second game against Minnesota, he slashed 3-for-5 with two RBIs.
“Just being as aggressive as I can be right now,” said Hacopian, “[It’s the] same kind of process I’ve been in the last few weeks.”
Minnesota native Paul Jones II had a strong game at the plate for the Terps. He homered in Friday’s contest and carried that momentum into Saturday’s game, hitting 2-for-4, including an RBI single in the second and a double in the fifth inning.
The win improves the Terps’ position in the Big Ten standings as they are now a game behind Michigan State in the twelfth slot.
The Terps will now be looking to convert another win on Sunday against the Gophers to close their eight-game road stretch before their final series of the season at home against Rutgers.
