Maryland baseball’s pitching suffers in 13-8 loss to Ohio State

Maryland baseball searched for its first sweep of a Big Ten opponent on Sunday against Ohio State. 

But after holding the Buckeyes to an average of 3.5 runs the previous two games, a disastrous fourth inning proved too much for the Terps to come back from. 

The struggles started after a leadoff single to Tyler Pettorini. Kyle McCoy then allowed two walks to load the bases, prompting a mound visit from pitching coach Mike Morrison. But that couldn’t help the freshman, as he walked two more with the bases loaded.

McCoy was pulled for fellow Andrew Johnson, but the issues continued on the mound for the Terps. Johnson gave up six more runs in the inning, including a three-run homer off the bat of Pettorini as the Buckeyes batted around, cementing the Ohio State win in an eight-run frame. 

The offensive surge was too much to handle for Maryland (21-14, 6-3 B1G), as it fell to Ohio State (18-17, 3-9 B1G), 13-8, for the Terps’ third-straight Sunday defeat when given a chance for a sweep.

“We put ourselves in this situation three weeks in a row and you know, if you want to win the league you got to finish these, and we just weren’t able to do it in the kind of the same story,” coach Rob Vaughn said.

McCoy got the start for Maryland, despite getting drilled in the face by a liner last weekend. But the left-hander struggled on the mound, walking five batters — and despite allowing just two hits — was charged for six earned runs, recording only a single strikeout in 3.1 innings pitched. 

The Buckeyes struck early, when Pettorini drove freshman left fielder Matthew Graveline home on an RBI double down the left field line. Pettorini’s 16th RBI of the season put Ohio State up 1-0 in the first inning.

The next two innings were quiet, as two Maryland singles were the only hits recorded by both sides. 

Buckeyes sophomore George Eisenhardt starred in the fourth, striking out two in a 1-2-3 inning on the mound. Eisenhardt finished the game with four strikeouts, one hit allowed, two walks given up and two runs charged in 3.1 innings. 

The game then unraveled for the Terps in the bottom of the fourth following Eisenhardt’s masterful top-half of the inning as Ohio State’s bats teed off on McCoy and Johnson, resulting in a 9-0 Buckeyes lead entering the fifth inning.

“The difference in that game is just the mental stuff that we talked about,” Vaughn said. “Mental mistakes or not understanding you know, when the big impactful plays come in … we end up having five walks in that one inning which is hard to overcome.”

Maryland went down in order in the top of the fifth, and the Buckeyes’ Zach McAlister crushed a two-run homer over the right field fence in the bottom of the inning to grow Ohio State’s lead to 11-0.

The Terps finally joined the Buckeyes on the scoreboard in the top of the six. Sophomore left fielder Zach Martin stepped up to bat with the bases loaded and one out, and was hit on the third pitch of his at bat, drawing in a run. Sophomore centerfielder Elijah Lambros followed with a sac fly to right field, making it an 11-2 game.

Ohio State added another run in the sixth on an RBI double down the right field line by fifth-year first baseman Marcus Ernst. 

The Terps didn’t give in however, bringing themselves closer in the top of the seventh. A pair of doubles from senior third baseman Nick Lorusso and sophomore first baseman Eddie Hacopian brought home three runs, trimming the Ohio State lead to 12-5. 

But the Buckeyes continued their scoring in the bottom half, as senior right fielder Mitchell Okuley crushed a leadoff home run to right field. 

Once again, the Terps used a three-run inning to get within five, as a Lorusso three-run bomb to left center in the top of the eighth put the Ohio State lead at 13-8.

“Nick Lorusso’s been so incredibly consistent … the one steady, steady piece has been Nicky Lo and you know just another great day for him,” Vaughn said.

It was all for naught however, as the Terps failed to register a run in the ninth, falling in the final game of the series against Ohio State.

“Just not good enough to finish and we want to be the team we can be and if you set yourself up to sweep a series on the road, you got to do a good job and finish it,” Vaughn said.