COLLEGE PARK, MD – No. 19 Maryland defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 15-9, on Senior Day at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium. Maryland secured yet another conference series win, continuing a streak of 23 straight Big Ten series without a series loss (22 series wins, 1 series split), a streak that dates back to the 2021 season.
The Terps advance to 35-18 (15-6 B1G) on the season, while the Golden Gophers leave College Park at 15-33 (8-13 B1G). Maryland is tied with Indiana at the top of the Big Ten standings with both teams at 15-6, with the Terps holding the tiebreaker, winning all three games against the Hoosiers this season.
Matt Woods showed out on his senior day, going 2-3 with two walks and two hits, including a two-run home run. Maryland's other senior starter Nick Lorusso recorded two RBIs and two runs scored of his own, on three hits.
Matt Shaw led the Terps in multiple offensive categories today, finishing 3-for-5 with three runs, four RBIs, and two stolen bases. His 23rd homer of the season leaves him one shy of the single-season school record of 24 set by Bubba Alleyne last year.
Jacob Orr equaled his season-best with three hits, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI.
Luke Shliger went 2-for-5 and scored two runs to add to his national-leading total and Maryland single-season record for runs with 83.
The Terps piled up 15 runs for their 20th game in double-figures this season. The offensive outburst pushed Maryland back to No. 1 in the nation in most runs scored with 515.
Terps pitching made quick work of the Golden Gophers across the first two innings, and Matt Woods provided padding on offense with an early two-run home run. The fifth inning featured a back-and-forth offensive battle, with both teams scoring four runs apiece. Maryland then exploded on offensive in the sixth, scoring seven runs to run away with the game.
Before the matchup, Maryland honored senior players and baseball faculty with commemorative jerseys and Varsity letters. The seniors were also recognized with a short description of their contributions to the Terps as they walked past the home dugout alongside their family members.
Ryan Van Buren pitched 2.2 solid innings before giving way to Kyle Lippman. Logan Ott took over for Lippman in the fifth, completing the final out in a fifth inning bases-loaded jam. Dave Falco pitched the remaining three innings to achieve his eighth save of the season.
Breaking Down The Action
- Matt Woods kicked things off in the second inning with a two-run shot to center right, scoring Eddie Hacopian.
- The Golden Gophers answered in the third off a Boston Merila RBI to score Riley Swenson.
- Ike Mezzenga hit into a fielder's choice in the fifth inning, allowing Brett Bateman to touch home and tie it up for Minnesota.
- Minnesota took a 5-2 lead with three-straight RBI walks to score Merlia, Kyle Bork, and Weber Neels.
- The Terps quickly equalized as Matt Shaw smashed a three-run home run to drive in Luke Shliger and Jacob Orr in the bottom of the fifth.
- Eddie Hacopian put Maryland back on top with a two-out RBI single to score Nick Lorusso from second.
- The Golden Gophers upped the score to 7-6 in the top of the sixth off a two-run home run by Ike Mezzenga.
- Maryland retook the lead again in the bottom of the sixth, as a pair of RBI singles by Shaw and Lorusso scored Orr and Shliger, respectively.
- Ian Petrutz extended the Terps' scoring with an RBI fly out, allowing Shaw to touch home.
- With the bases loaded, Elijah Lambros walked to score Lorusso. Another pair of RBI singles in the inning, this time by Orr and Kevin Keister, drove in Hacopian and Lambros, respectively, upping the score to 13-7.
- Shaw added another run for Maryland in the seventh, thanks to an RBI single by Lorusso.
- Shliger increased the Terps' lead to 15-7 in the bottom of the eighth with a sacrifice groundout to bring home Zmarzlak.
- Weber Neels hit a solo home and Riley Swenson scored off an RBI ground out in the ninth for Minnesota.
By The Numbers
- 3: Woods' homer in the second was his third home run in two days.
- 3: Orr equaled his season-best with three hits, as he also had three knocks against UMBC on April 25.
- 6: Number of Terps with 10 or more home runs on the season.
- 8: Eight different Terps recorded RBIs in this game, with six different players tallying RBI in Maryland's dominant bottom of the sixth.
- 9: Shaw had his ninth three-hit game this season.
- 10: Shaw had his 10th game this season with three RBIs or more.
- 10: Lorusso had his 10th game this year with three or more hits.
- 10: Keister had multiple hits for the 10th time in his last 13 games and now has 20 multi-hit games this season.
- 14: Woods had two or more hits in a game for the 14th time this season.
- 19: Shaw swiped his 18th and 19th bags of the season, putting him only one stolen base away from a 20 SB-20 HR season, a rare mark in Maryland baseball history.
- 19: With three runs scored, Shaw has scored at least one run in 19 consecutive games in a row.
- 20: Maryland has now scored 10 or more runs in 20 games this season.
- 20: Hacopian had his 20th multi-hit game this season.
- 23: Number of home runs by Shaw this season, one shy of the program record for single-season home runs by Bubba Alleyne (24) last season.
- 36: Number of runs scored against Minnesota across the weekend series.
- 83: Shliger scored two runs to give him 83 this season – to lead the NCAA – and 179 in his career, just shy of the program record of 181 held by assistant coach Matt Swope.
- 90: RBI this season for Lorusso, a single-season program record with 24 games with multiple RBI in a game.
- 160: Career RBI for Lorusso, second to Shaw on the school record for career RBI list.
- 161: Career RBI for Shaw, extending the new school record for career RBI.
- 515: Maryland is now No. 1 in the nation in runs scored with 515 overall. Last year, the Terps set a school record with 572 runs on the season.
Up Next
- The Terps travel to University Park to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions in their final regular season series of the year. Game one of the series begins on Thursday at 6 p.m. This game will be broadcast on B1G+ and the Maryland Baseball Network.
