OMAHA, NE – Thanks to a game-winning
Nick Lorusso home run, top-seeded and No. 23-ranked Maryland moved on in the Big Ten Tournament, walking-off No. 4 seeded Nebraska, 2-1
in 10 innings, Thursday night in a weather-delayed contest at Charles Schwab Field Omaha before 8,340 fans. The Terps (39-19 overall) reached the semifinal round of the Big Ten Tournament for the third time as a member of the conference and the first time since 2017.
With two outs in the tenth inning, Lorusso launched his 22nd home run of the season to give the Terps their first walk-off victory of 2023. His solo shot counts as the first extra-innings walk-off home run in the history of Charles Schwab Field.
The Terps advanced to the semifinal round where they will face off against the winner of Friday's elimination game between Nebraska and No. 8 seeded Michigan State for a trip to the Big Ten Tournament final on Saturday. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT, and the action will air on Big Ten Network and the Maryland Baseball Network.
Lorusso was one of many heroes in a contest that included a 93-minute delay and lasted four hours and 37 minutes, One of the stars was
Nick Dean, who started for Maryland and spun a gem for the Terps and tossed 6.1 frames of one-run ball while only giving up two hits and punching out five Huskers. The Bensalem, PA native aided the Terps by sitting down Nebraska with ease and keeping the contest deadlocked heading into the rain delay.
After allowing the game's first run on a Cole Evans RBI groundout in the top of the second, Dean prevented further damage by inducing a fly out from the dangerous Brice Matthews to escape the inning. From there, the senior sat down seven Huskers in a row with back-to-back three up, three down frames in the third and fourth frames.
Maryland rallied to even the score in the fifth, as
Kevin Keister opened the stanza with a leadoff double and was driven home on a
Matt Shaw RBI single past the shallow infield defense.
After the weather delay, another hero stepped onto the mound for Maryland as
David Falco Jr. entered the fray with a runner on in the seventh and stranded a pair of runners after a video review call and a hit by pitch. The redshirt junior continued into the eighth and ninth innings, working around a one-out walk by striking out two Huskers in the eighth and stranding two runners in scoring position in the ninth by emphatically punching out Casey Burnham to end the threat.
In total, Falco tossed 2.2 shutout innings, striking out four Huskers.
After neither team could break through in nine innings,
Jason Savacool (7-5) made his first relief appearance of the season, shutting down the Huskers with a pair of strikeouts in the tenth to set the table for Lorusso's long ball.
Lorusso went 2-for-5 at the plate with a home run and an RBI. Shliger contributed his third straight multi-hit outing, going 2-for-5 while Shaw notched his RBI single as a part of a 1-for-5 performance. Both Terps kept their respective career-best streaks alive, as Shliger reached base for the 56th consecutive contest and Shaw extended his hitting streak to 20 games.
Breaking Down The Action
- Nebraska got on the board first, going up 1-0 in the second inning with an RBI groundout.
- Shaw's RBI single up the middle in the fifth inning knotted up the contest at 1-1 for Maryland.
- On the pitch after the rain delay in the seventh inning, the Terps rolled up a double play which was overturned by a video review, changing the play to a fielder's choice with the runner safe at second base. After Falco hit the next batter, he struck out Casey Burnham ending the Husker rally without a run.
- In the ninth inning, Nebraska threatened to push the go-ahead run across with runners at second and third, but Falco retired the side with another Burnham strikeout.
- Lorusso ended the contest with a solo home run, giving Maryland the 2-1 victory in the Terps' first walk-off win of 2023.
Tournament History
- Maryland is now 12-9 all-time in Big Ten Tournament play dating to the 2015 tourney.
- The Terps have played in the 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023 tournaments.
- Maryland's best finish came in its first event in 2015, falling to Michigan in the Big Ten Championship game. The Terps won three games in that tournament.
- With the victory, the Terps have made their deepest run in the Big Ten Tournament since 2017, when Maryland won three games and advanced to the semifinals.
By The Numbers
- 1: This was Maryland's first walk-off win of the season.
- 2: This was Savacool's second-ever college relief outing. His only other relief outing came against UConn in the final game of the 2022 season in the NCAA Regionals on June 6, 2022.
- 3: Shliger's performance marked his third consecutive multi-hit outing.
- 9: The Terps won their ninth one-run game this season, standing at 9-1 in those contests.
- 18: Jacob Orr's season-best reached-base streak came to an end at 18 games.
- 20: Shaw continued his career-best hitting streak, pushing his run to 20 games with an RBI single in the fifth.
- 22: Shliger had his 22nd multi-hit game this season.
- 27: Lorusso notched a pair of hits as he secured his 27th multi-hit game of the year.
- 49: With his single, Shaw also extended his reached-base streak to 49 contests.
- 56: Shliger's record-setting reached-base streak advanced to 56 games on a leadoff single in the first inning.
- 98: Lorusso added to his nation-leading RBI total, tacking on one RBI to put his season total at 98.
- 120: Lorusso's walk-off home run counted as Maryland's 120th long ball of the season, making them the first Division I program to hit 120+ home runs in consecutive seasons since LSU accomplished the feat between 1996-98.
- 168: Lorusso continued to build his program RBI record by driving in the 167th RBI of his career in College Park.
Up Next
- The Terps' Big Ten Tournament title quest continues with Thursday's showdown against the winner of Friday's elimination game between No. 4 seed Nebraska and No. 8 seed Michigan State. The contest will start at approximately 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT and air on Big Ten Network and the Maryland Baseball Network.
