Maryland baseball comes back to beat William and Mary, 9-8, in home opener

Maryland baseball was able to overcome an early six-run deficit thanks to a couple of offensive outbursts and a great performance from the bullpen en route to a 9-8 victory over William and Mary in Tuesday’s home opener.

The Terps bullpen combined for 7.1 innings of two-run ball after starter Hunter Parsons was forced to exit in the second inning. The Tribe gave them a scare in the last two frames, but Maryland held on to improve to 5-5 this season.

On the offensive side, it was a productive day throughout the lineup. Zach Jancarski led the way with two doubles, in addition to driving in two runs. Kevin Biondic also provided the Terps with a pair of RBIs of his own. Nick Dunn, Will Watson, Nick Cieri and Kevin Smith had multi-hit games as well.

After a clean first inning to get things started, Parsons got into his jam in the top of the second. Struggling with his control, Parsons couldn’t make the key pitch when he needed to. The sophomore allowed a out walk to start the rally, followed up by a single that shot by Kevin Biondic at third base. After Parsons recorded the second out of the inning, shortstop Kyle Wrighte put the Tribe up early with a three-run blast over the center field wall. Parsons would stay in the game until he allowed another three-run hit when Cullen Large ripped a double into the right-center gap to give William and Mary a commanding six-run lead.

Maryland was quick to respond to the outburst in the bottom half of the second. A hit batter and a Nick Cieri single put early pressure on William and Mary starter Aaron Fernandez, which the Terps were quick to capitalize on. RBI singles from Will Watson and Kevin Biondic put the Terps on the board, and Biondic would go on to score on a wild pitch. By the end of the second inning, the Terps had cut the Tribe’s lead from six to two.

However, outside of an explosive second inning on both sides, the bullpens were able to limit the damage during the middle portion of Tuesday’s contest. Ryan Hill pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, while William and Mary reliever Chase Bailey threw three scoreless frames of his own.

It wasn’t until the sixth inning that the Terps would take their first lead of the ballgame. Zach Jancarski’s second double of the day tied the game at 6-6 after the Tribe had led since the second inning. Nick Dunn followed the two-RBI double with an RBI single of his own to give the Terps their first lead of the ballgame.

Maryland would tack on another run in their half of the seventh, but William and Mary would not go down easily. Mike Rescigno found himself in trouble after he allowed two straight singles to start the eighth. Ryan Selmer allowed an inherited runner to score on a wild pitch, but kept the Terps’ lead intact at 8-7.

The Terps would go onto add another run on a Brandon Gum single in the bottom of the inning. This would prove to be a difference maker as Ryan Selmer fought his way threw in the ninth inning, having given up a run to cut the Terps lead to one. Selmer would get the save after he struck out pinch hitter Matthew Keane to end the contest.

Maryland will be back in action tomorrow to take on St. Joseph’s at 4 p.m. at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium.