RICHMOND, Va. – Freshman RHP Hunter Parsons performed well in his first career start while sophomore Kevin Biondic notched three hits as the Maryland baseball team swept past VCU, 7-1, at The Diamond Wednesday night.
The Terrapins (13-12, 1-2 Big Ten) rolled with 12 hits, their third straight game with double digit base knocks. Maryland outscored the Rams 15-2 over two games this week and extended its winning streak to three.
Maryland struck first in the opening inning. Sophomore Kevin Smith reached second after an error at first before heading to third on Nick Dunn's fly out. After a Nick Cieri fly out, freshman Marty Costes slammed a double off the left field wall to bring home Smith. Biondic then doubled down the left field line to score Costes.
VCU responded with a run in the bottom half of the first when Jimmy Kerrigan singled in Logan Farrar.
Parsons settled in after the run, tossing four and two thirds of an inning while striking out four. At one point, the freshman retired nine straight batters.
The Terps scored single runs in the fifth and sixth to extend the lead. The fifth saw Zach Jancarski rip the first home run of his career to left field. In the sixth, Biondic singled before heading to second on an Anthony Papio sac bunt. Freshman AJ Lee brought him home with a single to left to make the score 4-1.
In the seventh, Maryland grabbed two more insurance runs with a two-out rally. Cieri legged out an infield single before consecutive walks issued to Costes and Biondic loaded the bases. Papio then found a hole through the right side to plate a pair and give the Terps a 6-1 lead.
The Terps eighth saw Dunn rip a double into center to plate Jancarski, who had singled, for the final run of the game.
Sophomore Ryan Selmer earned the win with a spectacular outing in relief. The right hander retired all 10 batters he faced before junior Mike Rescigno finished out the game in the ninth.
Three Terps recorded multi-hit games (Dunn, Biondic, Jancarski) with all but one starter not notching a base knock. Jancarski and Costes scored two runs.
The Terps have outscored their opponents 19-3 in their three-game winning streak. Maryland's starting pitching has been sensational over that stretch, tossing 27 and two thirds innings with two earned runs allowed and 17 strikeouts to just three walks.
Maryland hits the field this weekend for a home series with High Point at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium. First pitch for Friday's contest is scheduled for 4 p.m., and the action can be heard live on the Maryland Baseball Network.
– Terps –
