TAMPA BAY – Former Maryland baseball player Brandon Lowe (2013-15) made his major league debut Sunday afternoon, starting in left field for the Tampa Bay Rays in an 8-7 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
Lowe went 0-for-4 at the plate, but did reach base on a walk in the ninth inning. Normally a second baseman, Lowe was called up to the majors after a sensational season in the minors where he hit .297 with 22 home runs and 31 doubles between Triple-A Durham and Double-A Montgomery.
"It's indescribable. It's been a dream since I was a little kid," Lowe said to the media following the game. "To have so much of my family there to witness it was just amazing."
Lowe's first time on base was in a significant spot as he represented the winning run in the Rays late comeback attempt. Unfortunately for the debutant and his teammates, a double play ended the ballgame.
"I thought he had good swings and good at bats," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "There were a couple just misses in there. You can tell he has a quick bat just from the fly balls that he hit. He's going to get to play. You are going to see more of him."
A 2015 D1Baseball.com Second Team All-American, Lowe was a career .338 hitter with 10 home runs and 30 doubles as a Terp. He was named a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2015 and helped Maryland to consecutive Super Regional appearances in 2014 and 2015. Lowe is the first player coached by then hitting coach and now current Maryland head coach
Rob Vaughn to reach the major leagues.
"I could not be more thrilled for Brandon and his family," Vaughn said. "Over the last few years I've seen him transition from a very good player to an elite young man obsessed with being great. The sacrifices that him and his wife have made to make this day possible are amazing. Brandon was apart of my first team at Maryland and set the standard for what Maryland Baseball is about. What a special young man. Today is the start of a long and prosperous career for Brandon – I just became a big Rays fan."
Lowe and fellow Ray Adam Kolarek are two of three former Terps (Brett Cecil, St. Louis Cardinals) on major league rosters. Lowe and Kolarek are the first pair of Terps to be teammates in the majors since 1950, when Hal Keller and Sherry Robertson played for the Washington Senators.
Lowe's call up to the bigs elicited an outpouring of support from members of the Maryland baseball family. His next action could come Tuesday as the Baltimore Orioles travel to Tropicana Field for a three-game set.
