Maryland baseball: Seminoles crush Terps 15 - 3 as control issues plague Maryland

Things start off mano-a-mano

In most of the Terps games they scored in the first. inning Not tonight. Weaver looked sharp and retired White-Lowe-Ward; all three left handed hitters. But Stinnett also had a good first, allowing only a single by D J Stewart just past the diving Blake Schmit. In the second the Terps went down in order on two Ks and a ground out. Stinnett took care of business in the second on only five pitches.

In the third the Terps' bats came alive. Schmit lined a shot to right field that right fielder Delph made a diving catch on. That play eventually saved a run. Cuas hit an infield single and Amaro followed with a single through the right side. However White lined out to Brizuela, who threw to second for the double play.

Terps' miscue puts FSU on top, but Cuas atones

In the bottom of the third inning Deluzio was nipped by Stinnett's first pitch. Delacalle bunted Deluzio over to second, then Delph lined out to third. Gonzales hit a grounder to third which should have ended the inning. However Cuas' throw was in the dirt and skipped away from Wade for an error, scoring Deluzio all the way from second. (Note: In home cooking scoring Gonzales was given a hit with the unearned run coming in on the throw to first. Absurd.) That ended Stinnett's string of 21 consecutive scoreless innings. After three the Terps trailed 1 - 0.

Both sides went in order in the fourth. With one out in the fifth Rescigno got on first thanks to an error by Brizuela. However he got cut down trying to steal. Schmit walked and the Cuas gave the Terps the lead with a two-run homer to left. However the Seminoles tied it up in the fifth. With one out Delacalle lined a single to center and Delph hit a single to right. Gonzales walked and the bases were loaded. Stewart swung at a wild pitch and all runners advanced. Stewart eventually popped out to third. Nogowski walked and the Seminoles once more loaded the bases. But Brizuela popped out to short and Stinnett escaped further damage.

Terps' pitchers have control struggles and the Seminoles capitalize on it

Neither side scored in the sixth and we headed to the seventh tied 2 - 2. In their half of the seventh the Terps failed to score. Unfortunately things went awry in the bottom of the inning. Delacalle started off with a single through the middle. Delph followed with a solid single to center. On a 1 - 2 pitch Gonzales was hit and the bases were loaded with Seminoles. That finished Stinnett, who was not nearly as sharp as he had been in his first three starts. In particular he had trouble getting his slider over for a strike. In came Ben Brewster to face the treacherous lefty D. J. Stewart. Brewster hit Stewart with his first pitch and the Seminoles led 3 - 2. Nogowski hit a sacrifice fly pushing the Seminoles' lead to two. Brizuela blasted a double to right and the score was now 5 - 2. Bobby Ruse came in to pitch for the Terps and struck out Jameis Winston. Sansone walked, which loaded the bases. Then Deluzio smashed a triple to left center that scored three more runs. A pop out ended the inning with the Terps down 8 - 2.

Billy Strode relieved Weaver in the eight and set down the Terps. Weaver went seven, allowing two runs on four hits, and striking out a season-high eight batters.

Robert Galligan started the eight for the Terps. He gave up a double then hit Gonzales with a pitch. After a wild pitch Stewart doubled down the right field line, expanding the Seminoles' lead. Truluck walked and in came Brandon Casas to try to stop the bleeding. But he issued two walks and two hits. In all FSU scored seven runs in the inning to give them a 15 - 2 lead.

The Terps got a run in the ninth on hits by Convissar, Montville, and Cuas.

Maryland pitchers issued allowed seven walks, hit four batters, and threw three wild pitches. You can't do that against a poor team and prevail; against a top-tier team like the Seminoles it's lethal. Let's hope that our pitching is steadier tomorrow.