No. 20 Maryland baseball and Penn State combined for 32 runs scored in Thursday’s high-scoring slugfest, one where the Terps came out on top.
Friday’s bout was much more grinded out. Runs didn’t come easily for either side, as the Terps failed to plate their first runs until the fifth inning while the Nittany Lions put up a two-spot in the second frame and were otherwise held scoreless through four frames.
“We were on the barrel a lot in the first three innings,” coach Rob Vaughn said, “… but [Penn State starter Tommy Molsky] did a good job of attacking the strike zone. He was mixing pitches. I thought his stuff was really good.”
The Terps (36-19, 16-7 Big Ten) failed to produce any runs outside of a three-run fifth, while Penn State (25-24, 7-15) strung together just enough timely hitting to pull off the 5-3 victory on Friday.
“We didn’t play bad today,” Vaughn said. “We just didn’t make the game-winning plays … We couldn’t get that sustained success, that consistent success.”
The Terps entered the night with the opportunity to claim at least a share of its second-straight Big Ten regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament. But the Nittany Lions spoiled that, meaning Maryland will look to lock up sole possession of the number one spot with a win in its final regular season game on Saturday.
Nearly all of junior right-hander Jason Savacool’s six innings were high-stress. Two Nittany Lions were left on base in the initial frame, while a one-out, bases-loaded double play bailed the starter out of what was shaping up to be a nightmare third inning.
The Maryland bats pieced together three runs in the fifth inning to take its first lead of the game after having trailed every inning since the second. But Penn State quickly regained it in the bottom half of the same frame after a two-run single by junior shortstop Jay Harry, taking a 4-3 advantage.
Savacool grinded his way through his outing on a night when he clearly didn’t have his best stuff. The right-hander walked five batters and threw three wild pitches, telltale signs that his command wasn’t in peak form. His pitch count remained higher than he would’ve liked the entire game, ending at 114 in six innings. But the Terps trailed by just one run upon his exit from the mound, keeping his team in the thick of it.
Redshirt sophomore right-hander Nigel Belgrave spelled Savacool in the seventh, retiring the side in order in the seventh before allowing an RBI single to junior designated hitter C.J. Pittaro, extending the Nittany Lions’ lead to 5-3. Sophomore left-hander Andrew Johnson entered to record the final two outs of the eighth, striking out one while inducing a flyout for the other.
Junior second baseman Kevin Keister roped a double with his team’s backs against the wall with two outs in the top of the ninth, but the effort ultimately came up short with a Luke Shliger groundout the next at-bat.
Three Terps were held hitless in the losing effort, while seven runners were left on base and the usual potent offense failed to hit a long ball for the second consecutive day.
If Indiana, the current second-place team in the Big Ten, wins both of its remaining games against Michigan State, and the Terps fall again on Saturday, Maryland will fall to the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. If both teams win out and finish with an identical 17-7 record, Maryland holds the tiebreaker due to its sweep of the Hoosiers earlier in the year.
But if Indiana loses either, the Terps will lock up at least a share of the title, keeping them in a strong position down the stretch.
“Tomorrow’s a big game for us,” Vaughn said. “… It’s gonna be important for us to finish the regular off right here … I don’t want to back into a conference championship.”
