STATE COLLEGE, PA – The No. 20 ranked University of Maryland baseball team clinched its second consecutive outright Big Ten Championship by defeating Penn State, 7-4, Saturday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. By winning the outright Big Ten title, the Terps (37-19, 17-7 B1G) secured the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, which starts next Tuesday in Omaha.
Rob Vaughn's squad became the first team to repeat as Big Ten champions since Indiana won the conference in 2013-14. The Terps secured the sixth overall conference championship in program history, adding to last season's Big Ten title, ACC Championship seasons in 1965, 1970 and 1971 and a Southern Conference crown in 1936.
With the game tied entering the eighth inning, the Terps utilized a three-run eighth to pull ahead with
Kevin Keister lacing a go-ahead RBI single up the middle to give Maryland the late advantage and
Nick Lorusso driving in insurance runs with a two-run single.
Lorusso's clutch knock gave the third baseman 96 RBI on the season to shatter the Big Ten single-season runs batted in record of 95, originally held by Indiana shortstop Mike Smith since 1992. His tremendous season at the plate ranks as one of the best collegiate seasons in the 21st century, as the Monroe, CT native's RBI count is the most for any player in college baseball since Billy Becher drove in 118 runs for New Mexico State in 2003.
More records fell Saturday in State College, as
Luke Shliger set the Maryland career runs record on an
Ian Petrutz sacrifice fly to score his 182nd career run, surging past current associate head coach
Matt Swope. The junior catcher finished the contest 3-for-4 with a walk, a double and two runs scored, extending his reached-base streak to 54 games in the process.
In total, the Terps scored five unanswered runs, as
Elijah Lambros provided a huge boost for the Terps in the middle innings with a two-run home run in the sixth to even the score. He went 2-for-5 at the dish with two RBI. Additionally,
Matt Woods launched his 11th home run.
Jacob Orr finished just a home run shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with the go-ahead run while extending his season-best reached streak to 17 contests.
Maryland's bullpen provided a wealth of support, as the Terps' relievers combined to pitch five scoreless innings.
Kenny Lippman (7-1) picked up the victory with a shutout seventh inning, and
David Falco Jr. notched his ninth save of the campaign by pitching two scoreless frames and recording a pair of strikeouts.
With the win on Saturday, Maryland won its 22nd Big Ten series in a row, dating to a sweep of Northwestern on April 24-25, 2021. The Terps won all eight Big Ten series of the season for the second year in a row.
Penn State finished its season 25-25, 7-16 B1G. The Big Ten Baseball Tournament bracket will be released later Saturday following the completion of all games.
Rob Vaughn's Take
"The best player in our conference [
Nick Lorusso] came up with a big two-out RBI that we needed and we refused to lose, that was kind of the name of the weekend."
"Really proud of these guys, I feel like this group deserved to sit at the top alone and I am really proud and excited for them."
Breaking Down The Action
- Penn State struck first, as a CJ Pittaro RBI triple put the Nittany Lions on the board with a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second.
- Petrutz tied the game with a third-inning sacrifice fly, putting Maryland level at a 1-1 score line.
- The Terps grabbed a 2-1 lead with Woods' solo shot to right in the top of the fourth.
- Pittaro notched another RBI on an infield single for Penn State in the fourth to tie the contest, 2-2.
- Two more runs came across for Penn State in the fourth inning, as a Johnny Piacentino double and a Maryland error gave the Nittany Lions a 4-2 advantage.
- With one swing, Lambros knotted the contest at 4-4 with a two-run jack in the top of the sixth.
- Keister put the Terps ahead, 5-4, with an RBI single in the top of the eighth.
- Lorusso's two-run single gave Maryland some breathing room with a 7-4 edge later in the eighth inning.
Conference Champs
- Maryland won its second-consecutive Big Ten title, as the Terps became the first Big Ten team to win back-to-back Big Ten titles since Indiana in 2013-14.
- Maryland locked up its sixth conference championship also winning the ACC in 1965, 1970 and 1971 and the Southern Conference crown in 1936.
- In all sports, this was Maryland's 48th Big Ten Championship (including regular-season and tournament titles) since joining the Big Ten in 2014-15. Only Michigan (77) and Ohio State (59) have more since Maryland joined the conference.
Series Win Streak
- With a win on Saturday, Maryland won its 22nd Big Ten series in a row, dating to a sweep of Northwestern on April 24-25, 2021.
- The Terps won all eight Big Ten series of the season for the second year in a row.
- Maryland had its 24th Big Ten series in a row without a losing series (23 series wins and one tie) since losing 2-of-3 at Nebraska on April 9-11, 2021.
- The Terps won their 10th consecutive road series win in Big Ten action dating to a split at Iowa on April 23-24, 2021 (the lone tie series in its run without a series loss).
Road Warriors
- With Saturday's at Penn State, Maryland (19-7 on the road) matched its program record for most road wins in a season with 19. That mark was set last season when the Terps went 19-7.
- Maryland won its seventh of eight weekend series on the road this season, winning the last six in a row. The lone series loss this season came at Ole Miss (Feb. 24-26).
By The Numbers
- 6: Maryland has now six conference championships in baseball (Big Ten: 2022, 2023; ACC: 1965, 1970, 1971; Southern: 1936)
- 8: The Terps won all eight of their Big Ten series in 2023.
- 9: Falco Jr. earned his ninth save of 2023, tying Kevin Mooney (2013) for the fifth-most saves in a season in program history.
- 10: Orr notched his 10th multi-hit outing of the year.
- 11: Woods' fourth-inning blast gave him 11 homers for the campaign.
- 12: Falco Jr. picked up his 12th-career save, putting him at sixth in program history for career saves.
- 14: Lambros blasted his 14th home run of the season.
- 15: Lambros notched a pair of hits to record his 15th multi-hit contest of 2023.
- 17: With his second-inning double, Orr pushes his season-best reached-base streak to 17 games.
- 18: Shaw beat out an infield single to maintain his 18-game hitting streak.
- 20: Shliger recorded his 20th multi-hit contest of the year.
- 22: The Terps secured their 22nd consecutive Big Ten series win, extending a streak that began in April 2021.
- 50: With Petrutz's third-inning sac fly, he drove in his 50th run of 2023, becoming the fifth Terrapin to notch 50 RBI this year.
- 54: Shliger led off the game with a single, continuing his record-breaking reached-base run of 54 games.
- 60: Shliger drew a third-inning walk to put his season total at 60, two shy of tying the Big Ten record for free passes.
- 87: Shliger's nation-leading run total sits at 87, putting him three runs shy of the Big Ten single-season record of 90, which was set by Indiana infielder Micky Morandini in 1985.
- 96: Lorusso claimed the Big Ten single-season RBI record with his 96th RBI of the campaign, breaking the precedent of 95 set by Indiana shortstop Mike Smith in 1992. His total counts as the most by any player in all of Division I College Baseball since Billy Becher of New Mexico State, who had 118 in 2003.
- 166: Lorusso extended his career program record RBI total to 166.
- 183: Shliger scored a pair of runs to put his career runs total at 183, setting the Maryland program record for career runs scored by surpassing current associate head coach Matt Swope's program record of 181.
- 542: Maryland added to its nation-leading runs scored total with seven in the game for 542 overall, averaging 9.7 per game (second to Campbell, 9.9).
Up Next
- The Terps have clinched the No. 1 seed for the 2023 Big Ten Baseball Tournament, setting the stage for a matchup against the to-be-determined No. 8 seed on Tuesday at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, NE. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. ET, and the contest will be broadcast on Big Ten Network and the Maryland Baseball Network.
