COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Maryland baseball team racked up 15 runs on 19 hits and scored in seven of its eight half innings in a comprehensive 15-2 victory over Penn State at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium Sunday afternoon.
The Terrapins (24-11, 9-3 Big Ten) completed their third home sweep of the season and fourth home series win. Maryland is now 15-1 at home this season. Junior right-hander Taylor Bloom picked up his fourth win of the season, going seven innings with four strikeouts.
Sophomores AJ Lee and Marty Costes led the offense with a pair of four-hit, five-RBI performances. Lee added two home runs while Costes finished a home run away from the cycle. Maryland's run and hit totals were season highs.
The Terps scored in their first six half innings on offense, starting with a three-spot in the first. Junior Zach Jancarski started the game with a single up the middle and moved to third on senior Brandon Gum's double. Costes then legged out an infield single that scored Jancarski. Gum also came home on the play when the throw from short was errant to first.
Costes ultimately went all the way around on two flyouts and a wild pitch. Penn State scored on a solo shot in the top of the second before Maryland responded with two of its own in the bottom half. Lee and Jancarski singled to set up Costes, who tripled to centerfield to plate both runners.
Maryland's offensive continued to pour it on in the third. This time it was Lee who provided the RBI knock, a single that plated Madison Nickens. Another run came in the fourth on a Nick Dunn RBI single that scored Costes.
The home team's biggest inning of the contest came in the fifth. Nickens opened the frame with a single before stealing second. He came home on Nick Cieri's single. After Lee was hit by a pitch and Gum walked, Costes ripped a double that brought home Cieri and Lee. Dunn would pick up his second RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly, making the Maryland lead 11-1 after five innings.
Penn State's only other run of the game came on a solo homer in the sixth. Bloom scattered nine hits and executed well with runners on base.
Lee's first homer of the contest came in the sixth, when he ripped a 3-2 pitch to center for a two-run shot. Lee added a second two-run bomb to almost the exact same spot in the eighth. Cieri was the runner on base for both homers.
Maryland's 15 runs are its most since scoring 19 at James Madison on April 26, 2016. Maryland's last 19-hit output came on May 8, 2015 at Ohio State.
Lee set career highs in hits (4), runs (4) and RBIs (5). He is now batting .303 on the season. Costes' five RBIs represented a new career high.
Maryland returns to action Wednesday at William & Mary. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and fans can listen to the action live on the Maryland Baseball Network.
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