Maryland baseball dominated by East Carolina, 9-0, to start weekend series

In the first contest of a three-game home set against No. 17 East Carolina, Maryland baseball had no answers, falling 9-0 on Friday night.

Left-hander Jake Agnos kept the Maryland batters off balance for seven shutout innings, and East Carolina batters made life difficult for the Terps by banging out 13 hits. The Pirates put up two crooked numbers, a five-run and a three-run frame, each time the big hit being a multi-run home run. Leadoff hitter Bryant Packard had four hits, including two doubles. The Terps managed just six hits, all singles.

Senior right-hander Hunter Parsons had only allowed three runs this season, all on solo home runs. But the Pirates surpassed that in in under three innings, scoring five runs. Parsons settled down and ultimately pitched six innings, allowing six runs on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

In the top of the first, ECU collected two singles and a sac fly by Alec Burleson. After a quiet second inning, Bryant Packard sliced a double down the left field line to start off the top of the third. Packard went to third on a sac bunt, and Burleson got his second sacrifice fly on a line drive to Randy Bednar. After an infield single, Jake Washer hit a three-run homer to right center field, putting the Terps in a 5-0 hole. Another run came home on a hit batsmanand an opposite field double, which made the score 6-0 in favor of the Pirates.

The Terps threatened in their half of the fourth but came up empty. Taylor Wright got an infield single and Maxwell Costes dropped a single in shallow left. Ben Cowles skied out to right, which allowed Wright to tag up to third. But back-to-back strikeouts left the Terps still searching for a run.

Parsons settled down and blanked the Pirates over the next three innings.

Freshman righty Sean Heine took over for Parsons in the seventh, and he was cruising until two were gone in the eighth. Packard doubled for his fourth hit of the game, Lane Hoover hit an RBI grounder through the right side, and Spencer Brickhouse launched a bomb for a two-run homer, making it 9-0 Pirates.

Maryland didn’t fare any better against ECU’s bullpen, going hitless with four strikeouts over the final two innings.

The Terps and Pirates return to action Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.