Maryland Baseball Back On The Big Stage

Maryland baseball is back on the national stage for the first time since 2017 and nearly an entirely new group of players will have the experience of playing in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

Two members of the current roster who were also on that 2017 team, graduate students Tyler Blohm and Elliot Zoellner, have the unique experience of being a part of the postseason five years ago. Getting back to the NCAA Tournament is essentially bookending their careers at Maryland.

“This is awesome,” Blohm said. “At one point in our season we were really struggling and then we all came together and were like, ‘why are we putting so much pressure on ourselves.’ I think we knew we had something special [after splitting the series with No. 25 Michigan in early April] and we took that momentum and kept going until the end, and here we are now.”

Blohm, a native of Millersville, Maryland, was the 2017 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, after coming into College Park as the No. 5 ranked overall player and No. 2 ranked left-handed pitcher in the state of Maryland’s class of 2016, according to Perfect Game. He was the 2016 Maryland High School Gatorade Player of the Year and was drafted in the 17th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the hometown Baltimore Orioles, before electing to play in college.

He was sensational as a freshman, going 8-6 on the mound, leading the team in wins, with a 3.48 ERA in 16 starts. He gave up just 29 earned runs in 75 innings pitched and struck out 71 batters. Blohm started Maryland’s last game of the Regional in 2017 against West Virginia and he pitched 3.0 innings and gave up just one hit and three walks while striking out four.

“Being a freshman and going to a Regional is something that you can’t really explain,” Blohm said. “It was definitely a really cool experience and now being an older guy on the team, I’ve kind of taken in the freshmen that are in the same shoes that I was.”

Similarly, Maryland’s current freshman phenom Jason Savacool, a member of the 2021 All-Big Ten Freshman Team, led the Terps in wins with seven and he’ll start on the mound in Maryland’s 2021 Regional opener against Charlotte on Friday night. Blohm has served as a mentor to Savacool, as someone who has been in the exact same position.

“I told him, ‘before you go out there, it’s going to be a lot of emotions, especially with the crowd, but take it all in and understand that you’re there in the moment and that it’s just like any other game. You’re going out there and doing what you’ve been doing your whole life, getting three outs, one at a time.’” Blohm stated.

Zoellner, who was a member of the 2017 Maryland Terrapins but did not play in the Winston-Salem Regional, has served as a mentor to some of the current Terps who are still looking to make their mark on the field.

“I try to help them stay on the right track, in terms of not getting into mental loops and just keeping them on track,” Zoellner said. “But, for the guys that are successful, I’ve just supported them and let them know how great they are for the team and everything like that.”

The 2017 season for Maryland started very similarly to the way the 2021 season did. The Terps lost two games in their opening tournament and followed it up by dropping three to LSU, falling to 1-5 to start the season. This year, Maryland fell a few games below .500 early in the year and were 6-9 at the end of March. Both seasons featured a massive turnaround, including the second half of the 2021 season, where the Terps went a Big Ten best 18-4, winning their final seven regular-season series.

“I think we might even be more talented this year, but there’s a lot of similarities between the 2021 team and 2017 team,” Zoellner said. “Both teams have guys that are hell bent on winning and not only do both have guys with experience but also a lot of new guys in the program.”

Blohm, who missed the entire 2020 season after having left shoulder surgery, has seen his role reduced in the back end of his career, but his role as a leader has remained. 

“Us older guys really need to hone down and tell our younger teammates to take a deep breath, take in the moment and that it’s just like any other game we’ve played,” he said. “I think we have more talent on this team than 2017, and we’re close together as a group, so I am excited for what we can do.”

Maryland head coach Rob Vaughn, who is in his fourth season as the skipper of the Terrapins, was the associate head coach in 2017 and saw firsthand the careers of Blohm and Zoellner develop in the last five years.

Vaughn credits someone like Blohm for a lot of this year’s success because he is someone who had a major role as a freshman and battled injuries only to see his role reduced and despite all of that continues to be a major part of the program as a leader.

“If you have bitter seniors, you don’t get to where we are,” Vaughn said. “It’s just such a steadying force. They’re just such mature guys and they’re such team guys that will literally do anything for us to win and that’s what makes this group special. We don’t get to where we’re at without guys like Tyler and I think they don’t get all the recognition that they should, but I can assure you that we are not playing in June if it’s not for a guy like that.”

Zoellner, a native of Annapolis, Maryland, was cut during the 2017 season prior to the Regional. The relief pitcher questioned whether he would return to the team the next season, which Vaughn, who was in his first year as the head coach, begged him to do. 

He came back in 2018 and continued to struggle until he began to drop his arm slot when he pitched. In 2020 as a side-arm pitcher, Zoellner did not give up a run and struck out 16 batters in 11 innings of work in the shortened season. After not being selected in the 2020 MLB Draft, different teams reached out to him with undrafted free agent contract offers, including the Milwaukee Brewers. He called Vaughn and pitching coach Corey Muscara and both coaches were extremely supportive in either the decision to sign or return for his extra year of eligibility.

Zoellner decided to return as a graduate student because he wanted another crack at college baseball and he had an incredible second half of the season, going on a streak of six consecutive appearances without giving up a run.

“I kind of begged him to come back that first year and he comes back and has just been the ultimate team guy,” Vaughn said. “He is such a weapon because he is different. Everybody throws 95 miles per hour and the beauty is what Elliot does is different. He has the ability to run games, to come in and get you a hitter out, to go two or three innings and finish a game, and I think he’s just such a valuable weapon. We’re not where we’re at now without him and the way he’s thrown out of the bullpen. He’s going to be in some high leverage situations this weekend and we’re going to trust him with the ball in his hands when the game is on the line.”

The Terrapins have reached the NCAA Tournament for just the seventh time in program history and the first in five seasons. And with all that is going on in the world off the field, Maryland put together one of its best regular seasons in program history on the field. Maryland’s (28-16) winning percentage of .636 is the highest under Vaughn and the Terps finished second in the Big Ten, which is their highest finish since joining in 2014-15 and their highest conference finish since they were second in the ACC in 1980.

“I think it’s just a testament to the culture we have here,” Zoellner said. “I think Coach Vaughn has set up a really good system of great norms and everything we do is about ownership, accountability, and toughness. I think that’s really taken hold this year, in a year where there’s a lot of uncertainty and it has allowed us to be as successful as we’ve been this year."

Blohm and Zoellner, the two Terps veterans, will carry their leadership and experience in Greenville, North Carolina this weekend. While the Terrapins come in as the No. 3 seed in the region, they’re most looking forward to winning games, much like they have all season.

“We’re most looking forward to winning, but also playing in an awesome atmosphere and playing some really good teams,” Zoellner said.