Maryland baseball falls to Army, 4-3, in home opener

In its first home game of the season, Maryland baseball lost to Army, 4-3, in its third straight defeat.

Maryland started hot, loading the bases in the first and second innings, but its failure to score more than one run from those opportunities proved costly. The Terps never had a better chance to break through after the first two innings.

Like last week, Taylor Bloom lasted seven innings, but he struggled more in this one than against Tennessee. Bloom allowed four runs on eleven hits and three walks. Sean Fisher came in relief of Bloom, and despite allowing four baserunners, the lefty didn’t allow a run in two innings.

Bloom cruised through two innings, but the game slowly unraveled for him in the third. Tim Simoes singled in a run, while Jon Rosoff had an RBI single himself.

In the fifth inning, Army loaded the bases, and John McKenna singled with one out to take a 4-2 lead. However, some sloppy Army baserunning kept it from inflicting more damage. First baseman Kevin Biondic made a beautiful play on an Army squeeze attempt in the sixth, keeping the game a two-run deficit. The play helped Bloom get out of a two-baserunner jam in the inning.

As for Maryland’s offense, it started off hot but cooled significantly. Will Watson left the bases loaded in the first inning, and with the bases loaded again in the second, Zach Jancarski hit a sac fly to score Kevin Biondic, giving Maryland a 1-0 lead. However, the damage stopped there, as Taylor Wright was thrown out after bunting with the bases loaded to end the inning.

AJ Lee got to Army starter Tyler Giovinco in the third, hitting a game-tying home run for his first of the year. However, the lefty began to settle into the game in the third. Giovinco threw 55 pitches through two innings, but only needed 44 to get through the next five frames, shutting the Terps down besides the Lee home run.

In the seventh, Maryland’s offense got going again, as Marty Costes and Jancarski both reached on an error, ending Giovinco’s day. However, Nick Dunn hit into a double play, stranding both outfielders.

Taylor Wright led off the eighth with a double, but it looked like Maryland was going to strand him. Yet, with two outs, strike three to Biondic got by Army catcher Jon Rosoff, and Wright hustled around third to cut Army’s lead to one. Justin Morris followed with a deep fly ball to right, but it fell near the track to end the threat.

Maryland went quietly in the ninth, as Army closer Daniel Burggraaf struck out the side to end the game. The Terps failed to record a hit after Lee’s home run in the third.

Maryland and Army will meet again for game two of the series Saturday, which will now start at noon instead of the originally scheduled 2 p.m. ET.