NEWARK, DE – Maryland scored six runs in the ninth and 10th innings to pick up a dramatic 13-11 extra-inning victory at Delaware on Wednesday.
The game, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday, took place on a windy afternoon and was not short of excitement with the Terps (9-7) totaling a pair of homers prior to the decisive 10th inning.
After Delaware had tied the game in the bottom of the ninth,
Luke Shliger's double down the leftfield line scored
Elijah Lambros with the game-winning run in the top of the 10th inning.
Jacob Orr's single scored Shliger for the 13-11 edge.
Matt Woods, who homered earlier in the game, had a two-out, two-run single to score pinch runner
Jacob Orr and
Matt Shaw to put the Terps ahead 11-10 in the ninth. The Terps loaded the bases with one out in the ninth before an
Ian Petrutz bases loaded walk scored the Terps' eight run, then a
Kevin Keister groundout brought Maryland within one setting the stage for Woods' clutch hit.
Woods went 2-for-5 with three RBI as he continued his hot stretch of late with hits in five games in a row with nine RBIs and a .444 average over that span.
Senior Nick Lorusso continued his hot run of form, going 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI. With today's performance the third baseman added to his season totals, leading the team with eight home runs and 26 RBI as he extended his hitting streak to 15 games.
Woods added his second home run in as many games with a solo blast in the third. Petrutz drove in three runs in the game with two runs scoring on a first-inning single while Keister also drove in two runs. Both Lambros and Shliger scored three runs in the game.
The Terps got another quality appearance from junior Logan Ott, who came on in relief to start the second inning. Ott struckout five batters, allowing just six hits and one earned run in four innings of work. Tommy Kane struck out three in two innings of late-inning relief.
Nigel Belgrave earned the relief victory for the Terps, his second win in as many games and
David Falco Jr., collected his first save of the season retiring all three batters he faced in the 10th, striking out Dan Covino to end the game.
For Delaware (6-10), Wyat Nelson came in to pitch 7.1 innings in relief for the Blue Hens. Joey Loynd went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Andre Amato was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer to put the Hens in front for good in the fifth.
Breaking Down The Action
- The Terps struck first in the top of the first inning with a pair of RBI singles from Petrutz and Keister, giving Maryland the early 3-0 advantage.
- Delaware quickly responded, taking back the lead thanks to four hits including an RBI single from centerfielder Loynd to give the Blue Hens a 5-4 advantage at the end of the first inning
- Woods' booming solo shot over the Blue Hen scoreboard in right field cut the Delaware lead to 5-4 in the top of the third inning.
- The Terps claimed the lead back in the top of the fourth thanks to a Lorusso three-run home run which scored Luke Shliger and Elijah Lambros to give Maryland the 7-5 advantage.
- Four hits including a two-run home run from outfielder Amato allowed Delaware to retake a two-run lead in the bottom of the fifth, 9-7.
- Kane escaped more damage after a lead-off triple in the bottom of the seventh as he struck out the next two batters before getting a fly out to end the inning and keeping the Terps' deficit at two.
- The Blue Hens added a 10th run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth.
- Maryland mounted a rally in the top of the ninth. Elijah Lambros led off the inning with a ground-rule double. A walk to Lorusso and a single by Matt Shaw loaded the bases with one out. Petrutz drew a bases loaded walk to cut the deficit to two at 10-8. Keister's fielder's choice groundout scored Lorusso, making it 10-9. Then Woods singled to left center to score Orr and Shaw to give the Terps the 11-10 win.
- Maryland seemingly ended the game as Lorusso appeared to have tagged out a runner at third base, but the call made on the field was safe. With that, Delaware had runners on first and third in the ninth with two outs before Belgrave unleashed a wild pitch which allowed Jackson Tyer to score to even the game at 11-11 and send it to extra innings.
- Lambros was hit by a pitch to start the 10th inning. Shliger doubled down the leftfield line to score Lambros and put the Terps up 12-11. Then Orr's single up the middle to score Shliger and the 13-11 score.
By The Numbers
- 2: Woods' solo shot in the third inning marks two consecutive games with a home run for the outfielder.
- 2: Belgrave won his second game of the season, coming in his second consecutive relief outing.
- 5: Woods has a five-game hitting streak with a .444 average (8-of-18) with nine RBIs in that stretch.
- 6: Lorusso has six multi-hit games this season, including three in his last five games.
- 8: Lorusso's three-run home run in the fourth inning marks a team-high eight on the season. He hit 15 in his first year as a Terp in 2022.
- 15: With his single in the first inning Lorusso has hit safely in 15 consecutive games.
- 16: Keister has reached base safely in each of the Terps' 16 games this season.
- 30: The Terps now have 30 home runs on the season.
Up Next
- The Terps return home for a three-game series with America East opponent Albany from March 17-19 at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium. The games will air on Big Ten+ and the Maryland Baseball Network.
