Searching for the series sweep against a conference foe in its Big Ten series opener, Maryland baseball didn’t look as sharp as it did through the first two games.
Iowa strung together a nine-run fifth inning — including six singles, two walks, one double and one home run — and despite the fact it only scored three runs outside of that, the effects of the colossal inning were too much to overcome for the Terps offense.
Coach Rob Vaughn’s squad (17-10, 2-1 B1G) put eight runs on the board but ultimately fell to No. 25 Iowa (20-6, 1-2 B1G) in the final game of the series in Iowa City on Sunday, 12-8.
The game started just as it did on Saturday: with a Luke Shliger leadoff homer. The junior catcher slugged one over the opposite-field wall to put the Terps up 1-0 in the opening half-inning.
The Hawkeyes then quickly evened things up in their first licks, as redshirt junior center fielder Kyle Huckstorf drove in a run with a two-out double.
After going eight shutout frames in his start last Sunday, Maryland freshman left-hander Kyle McCoy was less effective to start things out against the Hawkeyes. The Big Ten Freshman of the Week had a bit of trouble against the Iowa offense, allowing four early hits and walking a batter through two frames.
Both sides struggled to produce offense in the second and third innings following the early scoring. Iowa put three runners on base in the second but failed to bring in a run, while the Terps put two runners on base in the third but saw a similar fate.
But their offense picked up in the middle innings.
After a Kevin Keister leadoff double to start the fourth, senior designated hitter Bobby Zmarzlak sent a bomb to left for a two-run shot, extending the Terps’ lead to 3-1.
Meanwhile, McCoy settled into a nice groove, recording a 1-2-3 third and another quiet fourth frame. The towering lefty struck out five while allowing just one run on 66 pitches after four innings.
The Terps’ offense continued its fourth-inning ways in the fifth, rocking starter Ty Langenberg for three runs on four hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. The junior right-hander was pulled after recording just one out in the tumultuous inning.
Maryland built its lead up to five runs by the middle of the fifth, holding a 6-1 advantage.
But the Hawkeyes completely erased all of that, and more.
Iowa put together a nine-run fifth inning, working through three Maryland pitchers to flip the ballgame on its head.
McCoy allowed the score to even at six after giving up three earned runs and five total. The starter failed to record an out in six batters before being replaced by junior right-hander Nate Haberthier.
Haberthier recorded just one out himself, allowing four more runs to pour in on two singles, a double and a three-run homer.
Sophomore left-hander Andrew Johnson then took a crack at it, finally ending the disastrous inning with a flyout and a strikeout. The Hawkeyes, who entered the bottom half of the fifth trailing by five, left it ahead by four.
Maryland cut its deficit soon after in half in the top of the sixth.
Fifth-year right fielder Matt Woods singled through the left side, bringing Shliger home from third. Zmarzlak then brought in his fourth run of the afternoon with a single, scoring junior shortstop Matt Shaw to bring the Terps within two, 10-8.
Johnson turned in a respectable outing, going 2.2 innings and allowing no hits. The reliever kept the Terps within striking distance, but Maryland’s offense went down routinely in the seventh and eighth frames.
Redshirt sophomore right-hander Nigel Belgrave replaced Johnson in the bottom of the eighth, allowing two runs to score — one of them being credited to Johnson.
Trailing 12-8 heading into the final half-inning, the Terps went down in four batters, ultimately failing to complete the comeback.
Despite the sour taste of the series capper, Maryland still managed to steal two out of three games on the road against a ranked opponent that had just four losses entering the weekend.
The Terps will look to bounce back on Tuesday when William and Mary comes to College Park for a midweek battle.
