Maryland baseball surrenders 9 home runs in 20-5 loss to Indiana

It was all Indiana on Saturday at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium, as the Hoosier bats woke up and dismantled Maryland baseball, 20-5, behind nine home runs and 18 hits.

Grant Richardson led the way for Indiana, going 5-for-6 at the plate with three home runs and six RBIs. Matt Lloyd and Scotty Bradley hit two home runs each, and Matt Gorski and Cole Barr joined the slugfest with long balls of their own. Maryland’s Chris Alleyne had a homer in the first, but the Terps managed just eight hits on the day, three of which came in the ninth.

Zach Thompson took the mound for the Terps, coming off a decent start against Creighton, looking to get back on track against Indiana. That wasn’t the case on Saturday as he gave up seven earned runs and eight hits, working one batter into the fourth inning. He needed 40 pitches to get through the first, giving up four runs. He gave up three home runs, one in each of the game’s first three innings.

He didn’t get help from his bullpen either, as they combined to give up 13 earned runs and six home runs, using four different pitchers to finish off the game.

The Indiana offense began its rout in the first, scoring four off Thompson. Drew Ashley singled home Gorski, who led off the game with a double. Lloyd, batting cleanup, followed with a two-run home run to put Indiana up 3-0. Indiana scored another after Thompson balked to allow Richardson to score, leading 4-0.

Maryland answered in the bottom half, as Alleyne led off the frame with a solo home run to cut the lead to 4-1. But Indiana countered in the second, as Lloyd hit his second homer of the game, a solo shot to put the Hoosiers up 5-1. The Hoosiers added another run in the third as Richardson went deep.

It wasn't until the middle innings when the Hoosiers blew the game open, scoring 12 runs in a two-inning span. They used the long ball for 10 of the 12 runs. In the fourth, Elijah Dunham singled, bringing home Lloyd and Cade Bunnell to put Indiana up 8-1. Barr followed with a two-run home run, increasing the lead to 10-1. It would become 13-1 after Gorski hit a three-run shot to left.

Richardson continued the home run party in the fifth with a grand slam to put Indiana up 17-1. On the first pitch of the next at-bat, Bradley homered for an 18-1 lead. Bradley hit his second long ball two innings later, putting Indiana up 19-1. In the ninth, Richardson blasted his third home run of the day to make it 20-1.

Maryland rallied in the bottom half, as Sebastian Holte-Mancera doubled home Caleb Walls and Ben Cowles to cut the lead to 20-3. Two batters later, Alleyne scored Tommy Gardiner on a sacrifice fly. Randy Bednar then doubled in Holte-Mancera, cutting the lead to 20-5. But that’s all Maryland could manage.

The rubber match between the Terps and Hoosiers will take place on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.