Maryland baseball’s offense makes history in 24-11 win against UMBC

Looking to start off another strong week, Maryland baseball did so with a bang.

In the second inning against UMBC, the Terps plated 17 runs, the a program record for most in a single inning. There was no coming back from that, as Maryland cruised to a 24-11 victory over UMBC. The game ended after seven innings once the teams and umpires agreed to do so.

Maryland’s offense wasted no time, as its first two batters reached base in the first inning. With runners on second and third with no outs, sophomore left fielder Ian Petrutz smacked a ball to center field for a two-RBI single to give the Terps an early lead.

Maryland junior starting pitcher Nate Haberthier couldn’t retain the then-three run lead, as he allowed two earned runs in the bottom half of the first on a pair of RBI groundouts.

But none of that mattered, as the Terps put forth a historic half-inning right after, scoring a program-record 17 runs in the second.

The inning started the exact same way the first did, with base hits by junior catcher Luke Shliger and junior shortstop Matt Shaw. Petrutz kicked off the shellacking with a hard hit ground ball which scored Shliger from third, and in the very next at-bat, sophomore first baseman Eddie Hacopian smacked a ground ball through the left side of the infield to add another run.

After a two-RBI double by sophomore Jacob Orr, junior second baseman Kevin Keister and freshman catcher Devin Russell then kicked off the home run party by hitting back-to-back jacks. Keister rocketed a three-run shot to dead center field before Russell hit a solo shot to the same area — the first of his collegiate career.

By the time the order wrapped back around to Orr, the Terps led 13-2, and he then knocked in his fourth RBI by beating out an infield single.

Shliger kept the offense rolling, as he belted a grand slam over the the right field fence to give Maryland a commanding 20-2 lead and cap off a historic second inning.

The next few frames were uneventful, but in the top of the fifth, Maryland’s bats came alive yet again. Hacopian picked up his second RBI single of the day before sophomore outfielder Elijah Lambros became the ninth Terp to place his name the hit column with a two-RBI double that extended the lead to 21.

In the bottom half of the fifth, UMBC took advantage of a tired Haberthier and put together a four-run inning.

Maryland got one of those runs back, though, as Keister launched his second home run of the day. He finished with a team-high five RBIs.

UMBC continued to try and chip away with another five-run inning, highlighted by an RBI single from graduate left fielder Christian Easley — his third RBI of the game. The Retrievers couldn’t get anything else going, however, as the game was called in the seventh inning.

Three things to know

1. Maryland’s 17-run inning set a program record. A monstrous second inning by the Terps set a new program record for runs scored in a single inning. The Terps hit three homers in the frame, including a grand slam from Shliger.

2. Keister, Orr and Shliger were the Terps’ hottest bats. The three sluggers combined for more than half of the 24 runs scored by the Terps, with three home runs and 13 RBIs.

3. The game ended in seven innings. Due to the beatdown by Maryland, the coaches and umpires agreed to call the game after seven innings. Even with the early ending, Maryland set records Tuesday evening.