HIGH POINT, N.C. – Senior Brandon Gum and junior Kevin Smith both notched three hits as the Maryland baseball team pushed past High Point, 9-2, at Williard Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The Terrapins (34-19, 15-9 Big Ten) scored eight runs in the first three innings to pull away from the Panthers. Junior righty Taylor Bloom earned the win, scattering eight this over six innings while allowing just two runs.
Gum sparked Maryland's first run in the top of the first with a lead-off triple. The senior scored on AJ Lee's RBI groundout to short. The Terps would then pour on four runs in the second. Smith doubled to left center to open the frame before coming in to score on a Madison Nickens' single.
After Nickens stole second, junior Justin Morris brought him across with a single to right field. Gum was then hit by a pitch. Sophomore Marty Costes finished off the inning with a double down the left field line to plate a pair and give the Terps a 5-0 lead.
The Maryland third began with a Will Watson walk. Smith drove in that run with a single to left before coming across the plate on Nickens' triple down the right field line, a play that saw the senior then score on a throwing error by the second baseman.
With an eight-run cushion, Bloom settled in. He struck out the side in the second and escaped minor jams in the fifth and sixth, although High Point did plate single runs in both frames. Senior Tayler Stiles earned his first save of the season as he pitched the final three innings without giving up a run.
Maryland's final run came in the sixth on a Dan Maynard sac fly that brought home AJ Lee. Lee extended his career long hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the seventh.
The Terps' 34 wins are the third-most in a single season in program history, equal to the 2002 team. Those 34 wins also ties the 2002 and 2014 teams for the second most regular season wins in Maryland history.
The Terrapins return to action Wednesday night in the Big Ten Tournament in Bloomington, Ind. The fourth-seeded Terps will take on the No. 5 seed Iowa at 8:30 p.m. Fans can watch the game live on BTN, or listen live on the Maryland Baseball Network.
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