Maryland baseball drops Big Ten opener to Northwestern, 4-0

After a rough non-conference schedule, Maryland baseball (12-14, 0-1 Big Ten) began its Big Ten schedule on a losing note, getting shut out, 4-0, by Northwestern (8-12, 1-3 Big Ten).

The Terps came into the game looking for a bounce-back win after losing to Richmond on Tuesday. Taylor Bloom took the mound for Maryland having lost his last three starts and giving up 21 hits and 12 earned runs in those outings. He looked to improve his 4.04 ERA and season record against the Wildcats.

Bloom had a solid outing against the Wildcats, throwing eight innings, allowing three runs, but giving up six free bases, four walks and two hit-by-pitches. He settled down after losing control in the third, recording two 1-2-3 innings and allowing just three hits.

The Wildcats started out the scoring, putting up three in the second inning. A walk and perfectly executed hit-and-run put men on the corners to start the inning. Ben Dickey put down a sacrifice bunt and Bloom tried to get Charlie Maxwell coming home, but his glove flip to catcher Justin Morris was too late. Dickey and Connor Lind moved up a base on a wild pitch. Lind scored on a sacrifice fly. Dickey came around two batters later on an Alex Erro RBI single.

The Terps couldn’t mount any offense against Northwestern starter Quinn Lavelle, who faced the minimum into the seventh inning, allowing only six Maryland base runners overall. Not one Terp reached second base the entire game. Lavelle struck out eight Maryland batters on route to his first career shut out for the Wildcats.

Northwestern tacked on another run in the ninth. The Wildcats got two runners on with a single and a walk on Mike Vasturia. Willie Bourbon then doubled into left field, scoring Kyle Burnett Jr. Alex Erro was thrown out by Marty Costes as he tried to score from first to end the inning and stop the bleeding; Costes had two outfield assists on the day.

AJ Lee went two-for-three with two singles; he was Maryland’s only bright spot on offense. The Terps were shut out for the fourth time this season and scored less than three runs for the ninth time. Maryland, with the loss, is now 5-10 in its last 15 games after going 7-4 in its first 11 games. The loss was Bloom’s fourth straight Friday night loss, dropping to 2-5 despite lowering his season ERA to 3.93.

Maryland will continue their weekend series against the Wildcats tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcasted live on BTN Plus and the Maryland Baseball Network.