No. 13 Maryland baseball falls to No. 4 Ole Miss, 12-6

Entering the bottom of the seventh down 6-4, Ole Miss started the inning hot with a Calvin Harris single and an Anthony Calarco double. 

Kyle McCoy walked Ethan Lege in the next at bat, loading the bases for the Rebels. The walk ended McCoy’s day, getting pulled for Nigel Belgrave. 

In his first matchup, Belgrave forced a pop fly out, and followed that up with a strikeout. Belgrave issued a walk with one out left, bringing home Harris to trim Ole Miss’ deficit down to one. 

Belgrave was pulled for David Falco after the walk. 

On Falco’s second pitch, Jacob Gonzalez drove a single into left, bringing in two runners and taking a 7-6 lead. The Rebels added insurance runs later as they didn’t relinquish the late lead.

After falling 9-2 the night before, No. 4 Ole Miss (5-1) evened the series with No. 13 Maryland baseball (3-3) with a 12-6 victory.

“I honestly thought we played a pretty average to below average game,” coach Rob Vaughn said. “You know offensively we weren’t very efficient, we didn’t get a lot of hits.

The Rebels got the scoring started in the bottom of the first.

After a flyout by Gonzalez, senior center fielder Ethan Groff reached base on a walk. Junior right fielder Kemp Alderman sent Groff home on the next play with a double down the left field line, putting the Rebels on the board first.

After the score, the Terps ended the inning with two quick outs, including a strikeout by senior right-hander Nick Dean. 

Like in the first inning, two Terps reached base in the first two at bats of the second. 

Sophomore first baseman Eddie Hacopian reached first after an error on the throw to first, and fifth year right fielder Matt Woods followed with a walk. A bunt single by junior second baseman Kevin Keister loaded the bases, setting the stage for a team with four grand slams through their first five games. 

One batter later, a sacrifice fly by sophomore center fielder Elijah Lambros sent Hacopian home, tying the game at one. Junior catcher Luke Shliger got hit by a pitch in his second at bat — just like in his first — loading the bases for junior shortstop Matt Shaw. Shaw struck out on a 3-2 count however, ending the inning as the Rebels escaped the bases loaded jam. 

Ole Miss got the lead right back on an RBI single by Gonzalez in the bottom half of the inning.

The lead was short lived, however, as sophomore DH Ian Petrutz tied the game back even with a home run to right, his fourth of the season. 

After hitting Hacopian and walking Keister the next at bats, freshman right-hander Grayson Saunier was pulled for freshman right-hander Sam Tookoian. Saunier pitched 2.2 innings, allowing two hits, two runs and walking three batters. 

Tookoian ended the inning the next at bat, striking out senior left fielder Bobby Zmarzlak on five pitches. 

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, Groff dropped a single into left field, scoring two to put the Rebels up 4-2. Dean struck out Alderman to limit the damage for a moment.

The top of the fifth was a big one for the Terps.

After striking out senior third baseman Nick Lorruso to begin the inning, Tookoian began to struggle with his command, walking three batters and loading the bases. With two outs and Zmarzlak at the plate, Tookoian walked Zmarzlak on a 3-2 count to bring home Putrutz.

Senior right-hander Matt Parenteau relieved Tookoian. He walked his first batter, tying the game at four with the second-straight bases loaded walk. The Maryland momentum wasn’t over, however, as Parenteau walked Shliger next, bringing in another Maryland run with the bases loaded.

“We preach all the time controlling the strike zone, so that’s kind of what we hang our hat on as an offense,” Vaughn said. “And we did a good job today, we got on base 15 times for free.”

The inning finally ended the next at bat when Shaw recorded a foul fly out.

The fifth was the last inning for Dean, as McCoy took over in the sixth. Dean struck out five in five innings, allowing six hits and four runs. 

Parenteau was pulled for freshman right-hander JT Quinn to begin the seventh inning.

Maryland increased its lead in the seventh after Shliger beat the shift and dropped a two-out RBI double into left, sending Zmarzlak home and extending the lead to 6-4. The inning was Quinn’s last, as sophomore right-hander Mason Nicholas replaced him in the eighth. 

The Rebels got back on the board in the seventh after McCoy walked Lege with loaded bases. Their momentum continued as Chatagnier delivered a two-RBI single into left field, taking the 7-6 lead for the Rebels. The inning ended the next at bat after a foul out to Hacopian. 

The Terps started the eighth with two quick outs before a single by Hacopian and hit-by-pitch by Woods put the Terps in scoring position. Keister walked on the next at bat, loading the bases down one. The Terps failed to take advantage however, as Zmarzlak flied out to right to end the inning and the scoring threat.

A Calaraco two-run homer and RBI singles from Groff and senior pinch-hitter Garrett Wood in the eighth gave Ole Miss a cushion entering the ninth.

“You know, you’ve got to earn the right to win, especially to win a series on the road against a top five team, and we just didn’t earn it today,” Vaughn said.

The Terps were unable to score in the ninth, falling 12-6, setting up a decisive game three on Sunday.