Photo courtesy of Grayson Belanger/Maryland Athletics.
In a game that started an hour later than scheduled, Maryland baseball’s offense took even longer to show up.
The Terps (8-5, 0-0 B1G) fell in the series opener against Troy (6-7, 0-0 SUN), 5-2, despite a two out rally in the ninth.
Lance Williams was the starting pitcher for the Terrapins. He came out the gate showing off his impressive velocity against Troy, striking out six on his first time through the order.
He didn’t have the same luck the second time around. Troy struck first with a three run homer from outfielder Aaron Piasecki, and a RBI single in the fourth extended the Troy lead to 4-0.
Williams’ night ended after six full innings pitched, posting 10 strikeouts while allowing five hits.
Cristofer Cespedes took the mound in the seventh inning looking to keep the Trojan lead at four – Troy loaded the bases, but the Maryland defense held strong going into the eighth.
The Trojans were able to add one more in the eighth inning – a diving snag from Paul Jones II kept it at only one.
Tommy Egan started on the mound for Troy. He had pitched five innings in each of his three starts coming into the series opener with the Terps.
Egan pitched five scoreless innings to start the game, navigating out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth. The senior was pulled after a strong showing – five hits and seven strikeouts.
Cooper Ellingworth came in for Egan in the sixth and struck out two batters early. Maryland was able to load the bases with two outs, but Ellingworth escaped the inning with a fly out.
Maryland’s lone offensive highlight came with two outs in the ninth. David Mendez doubled to left center, bringing in two runs to make the score 5-2 Troy. That would be it for the Terps, as a ground out ended the game.
Maryland consistently stranded runners throughout the game, leaving 10 men on base.
Mendez was the lone Terp with an extra base hit, and freshman Ty Kaunas was the only batter to record more than one hit.
Maryland will have more opportunities to get the offense going against Troy on Saturday. First pitch for the second game of the series is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
