Terps Drop Series Opener Against UCF, 4-2

Friday, March 24

Orlando, FL

6 p.m.

Maryland

12-9

UCF

16-6

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Maryland	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	8	1
UCF	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	X	4	7	1

3/24/2023 6:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

ORLANDO, FL – Maryland (12-9) got off to a tough start on its weekend trip to Central Florida as the Terps dropped the first of a three-game series against UCF (16-6) on Friday night, 4-2.

Behind a strong pitching performance from junior right-hander Jason Savacool, the Terps kept themselves in the game and Savacool was dealing on the mound. He struck out a season-high 10 batters over six innings of work.

However, despite an early 1-0 lead for Maryland thanks to what looked to be a safety squeeze from Matt Woods with Luke Shliger on third that turned into an RBI bunt single, the Terps gave away the lead in the bottom of the third.

UCF scored twice in the third, tacking on another run in the fourth thanks to a solo home run from Nick Romano to lead off the inning. Romano had things going offensively for the Knights with a three-hit game, one of two on the team with a multi-hit game.

Maryland had some offensive success against UCF starter Ruddy Gomez as both Luke Shliger and Nick Lorusso had multi-hit games, Lorusso extending his hitting streak to 20 games in the process. Woods also extended his hitting streak to 10 games with his first-inning single.

However, Gomez turned in a great performance on the mound for the Knights, striking out seven and giving up two earned runs over eight innings of work.

Breaking Down The Action

Woods opened up the scoring for the Terps with a bunt single, scoring Shliger from third, 1-0.
UCF tied the score in the bottom of the third inning with an RBI double from Brait. The Knights took the lead on an infield error during the next at-bat, 1-2.
Romano homered to left field to extend UCF's lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, 1-3.
Shliger got one back for the Terps in the top of the fifth with a solo home run of his own, 2-3.
UCF doubled its lead with an RBI single from Sundean in the bottom of the eighth, 2-4.
Maryland reliever Tommy Kane gets out of a bases-loaded jam with two down in the bottom of the eighth to keep the Terps alive, 2-4.

By The Numbers

10: The total number of strikeouts for Jason Savacool, a season-high.
10: Number of consecutive games with a hit for Matt Woods after recording a hit on Friday. He's now hitting .410 (16-for-39) during his current hitting streak.
20: Number of consecutive games with a hit for Lorusso.

Up Next

The Terps and Knights continue their weekend series at 6 p.m. EST on Saturday in Orlando. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Maryland Baseball Network.