Maryland baseball wins high-scoring midweek game vs. Delaware, 11-6

Maryland baseball won a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair with Delaware, 11-6, on Tuesday in College Park.

The Terps (7-4) looked in control early, scoring three runs in the first, but a five-run Delaware fifth gave the Blue Hens (0-11) the lead. However, Maryland responded in the bottom half of the frame and maintained the lead the rest of the way.

Sebastian Holte-Mancera finished the day all over the stat sheet. He went 2-for-2 with a double, a home run, two walks, two runs and an RBI. Justin Vought went 3-for-5, and Randy Bednar and Tommy Gardiner added two hits each. Maryland used seven pitchers on the day, with Mark DiLuia throwing a team-high 3.1 innings and Daniel O’Connor recording the win.

Delaware got on the board first in the first inning with a double from Jordan Hutchins and a RBI single from Zack Miller. But the Terps answered back quickly, scoring three runs in the bottom of the inning.

Caleb Walls and Randy Bednar started with back-to-back singles. Just two batters later, Maxwell Costes reached base on an error to load the bases. Justin Vought drove in Walls with an RBI single, then Ben Cowles walked in a run. Sebastian Holte-Mancera started his big day reaching on an error, which allowed Costes to score. The Terps had six players reach base in the first inning, with three hits, a walk and two fielding errors.

There was not much action from either side in the second or third inning, with just three players total reaching base. In the bottom of the fourth, Bednar drove in Tommy Gardiner on a fielder’s choice, giving the Terps a 4-1 lead.

The Blue Hens turned the tide in the top of the fifth inning. After two walks and two outs, Billy Phillips came into the game for Mark DiLuia. He surrendered three straight RBI singles to tie the game, then Jack Goan knocked a two-run double to give the Blue Hens a 6-4 lead.

But Maryland woke up the bats in the bottom of the fifth. The Terps tacked on three more runs to take a 7-6 lead. Vought started it off with a single, and Holte-Mancera and Gardiner followed by walking and singling. Gardiner’s single scored Vought, and Gardiner and Holte-Mancera scored on a Delaware error.

Maryland added to its lead in the sixth inning. Cowles hit a moonshot off of the top of the wall in right center field, which scored Vought and Wright. Cowles was thrown out trotting the third base as he thought that the ball cleared the fence. The very next batter, Holte-Mancera, blasted a solo home run over the right field wall to give the Terps a 10-6 lead.

The Terps controlled the rest of the way, holding the Blue Hens scoreless from the sixth inning on. Will Glock, Nick Turnbull and Sean Heine closed the door in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, respectively. Costes blasted a solo shot over the left field wall on the second pitch he saw in the bottom of the eighth inning for his first career home run, giving Maryland another insurance run. The Terps’ 11 runs are their most all season.

Maryland’s next game is Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET as the Terps head down to Deland, Florida to take on Stetson in a weekend series.