After allowing a single and two walks to open the bottom of the seventh down 11-8, Tommy Kane was replaced by Eli Stowe, Maryland’s fifth pitcher of the afternoon.
The right-hander entered with the bases loaded and no outs, the most high-pressure situation possible for a freshman in his second college outing. Add in the fact that it was at Swayze Field against a top-five program, and Stowe’s fate was nearly written.
Stowe walked a batter on four pitches, hit the next one, and walked another, bringing in three runs on no hits to extend the Terps’ deficit to six.
Coach Rob Vaughn quickly pulled the freshman, replacing him with sophomore left-hander Andrew Johnson in an identical situation.
Johnson allowed a grand slam to the first batter he faced, giving Ole Miss a 10-run lead and ending the game prematurely in embarrassing fashion.
“We just couldn’t stop the bleeding,” Vaughn said. “We talk about shut-down innings a lot. You look at our weekend, we had 10 opportunities when we scored to hang up a zero on the other side, and we were 4-of-10, which is just not good enough.”
With No. 13 Maryland baseball’s offense continuously scratching and clawing to stay in the ballgame, the Terps’ pitching relentlessly faltered, allowing 18 runs in seven innings and losing via mercy rule to No. 4 Ole Miss, 18-8.
The Terps fell to 3-4, while the Rebels improved to 6-1.
“Every time we’d inch closer, they would separate,” Vaughn said. “They’re highly ranked, they’re the national champions last season for a reason. Our battle was outstanding, we just didn’t play good enough.”
Following Saturday’s 12-6 loss, Vaughn mentioned the offense leaving meat on the bone with lots of missed opportunities for runs. After leaving 24 runners on base through the first two games of the series, Maryland’s offense continued the trend early on Sunday, when sophomore outfielder Elijah Lambros left the bases loaded with a fly out in the second.
In the third inning, third baseman Nick Lorusso made sure to put an end to the Terps’ frustration. The senior sent a shot over the left-field fence to bring in junior catcher Luke Shliger, who had singled to start out the inning.
While the Terps’ bats got on the board early, junior right-hander Nate Haberthier faced heavy struggles on the mound.
After throwing five innings of two-run ball in his Maryland debut last Sunday, Haberthier struggled to locate his pitches against a dominant Rebels offense. The Ohio State transfer needed 49 pitches to record six outs before being pulled in the bottom of the third.
In the bottom of the first, Haberthier allowed a leadoff home run to junior shortstop Jacob Gonzalez. He then struggled with commanding his pitches. The righty surrendered three walks and hit a batter in a nightmare third inning in which he faced six batters but failed to record an out.
“As a starter, we just gotta come out and give us a chance to win,” Vaughn said. “I think especially the way things start can influence a game.”
Haberthier was pulled for fifth-year right-hander Kenny Lippman as Vaughn hoped to stop the bleeding. However, the Ole Miss offense continued to hum, as junior outfielder TJ McCants absolutely roped a ball over the right-field fence to give Ole Miss a seven-run inning and take an 8-2 lead.
In total, the Terps allowed seven runs on five hits, three home runs, two walks and a hit by pitch across two pitchers in a tumultuous bottom of the third.
Maryland’s offense quickly awoke in the top of the fourth with a pair of two-run homers, putting four runs on the board and cutting the Rebels’ lead back down to two.
Lambros began the action with a one-out homer to straightaway center, and Lorusso continued his solid day with another homer to left, energizing the Maryland bench and putting the Terps within two runs.
The runs continued to pour in for both sides in the next two half innings, as the Rebels put two more on the board against right-hander Ryan Van Buren. The sophomore threw just seven pitches, allowing a single and a double before being replaced by Kane.
The junior left-hander allowed the inherited runner to score on a single, but escaped the inning with no further damage.
In the top of the fifth, Maryland recorded the game’s eighth homer, as Shliger sent a missile over the fence in right-center to bring the Terps within two once again.
Tensions continued to flare in the top of the sixth, when a called strike on fifth-year outfielder Matt Woods led to a swift ejection. Vaughn, clearly agitated by the call, got into the umpire’s face before retreating back to the dugout to end the top of the sixth.
Kane continued to hurl on the mound in the sixth, retiring the first two batters on strikes.
But the Rebels’ offense couldn’t be held down for long, as junior outfielder Kemp Alderman smashed Ole Miss’ fifth home run of the game, putting the Rebels ahead by three, 11-8.
The game completely unraveled in the bottom half of the seventh when Kane, Stowe and Johnson allowed a combined seven runs and the Rebels ended the game with the 10-run rule.
“When we’re in good counts, we’re landing secondary [pitches] for strikes, we got a chance,” Vaughn said. “When you can make [hitters] one pitch guys and they’re constantly in 2-1, 3-1 counts and are comfortable…it’s a lot easier to hit.”
Maryland lost its first series of the year as its bullpen continued to struggle and the offense left 10 more runners on base.
“Fight was good, but we gotta get a lot better,” Vaughn said. “I think our guys know that. I think we gotta be mature about it.”
