Maryland baseball’s home struggles continue in 14-1 loss to James Madison

Maryland baseball continued to struggle at home Tuesday, losing its second straight game in College Park in a 14-1 loss to the James Madison Dukes.

The Terps (18-18) fell behind early, surrendering five runs in the first, and never threatened to make it a game. Maryland recorded just one run on three hits, while the Dukes (21-17) pounded 13 hits and turned the game into a blowout in the sixth and seventh.

The Dukes’ bus arrived late to Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium, which pushed the start time of this game back 15 minutes, but the visitors were dominant. Starting pitcher Michael Bechtold gave up just two hits and struck out two over four shutout innings. The Dukes’ bullpen was commanding, allowing one run on one hit. Trevon Dabney stayed hot at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a walk, a hit-by-pitch and four runs scored. Kyle Novak and Brady Harju both drove in three runs.

Maryland starting pitcher Sean Heine struggled from his first pitch. Heine took his start into the fourth inning but exited after he walked the leadoff batter. He finished his start giving up six runs on five hits, while walking two batters and hitting one, through 3-plus innings pitched.

The first pitch of the game from drilled Dabney, and Fox Semones followed with a single. Novak singled through the right side driving in two runs to make the score 2-0. David Willis and Kyle Hayes added RBI singles of their own to make it 4-0. Calloway Sigler then capped off the five-run inning with an RBI groundout.

The Dukes picked up where they left off and tacked on one more run in the second. DaVonn Griffin worked a leadoff walk and then advanced to third on a groundout. Novak hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Griffin making it 6-0.

After Heine exited in the fourth inning, Billy Phillips came in to relieve. Phillips got out of a bases-loaded jam unscathed in the fourth, setting down three straight hitters. He walked Hayes with two outs in the fifth inning but retired the next batter to end the inning. In the top of the sixth, Dabney and Semones hit back-to-back doubles, which made it 7-0. Brady Harju later cranked a two-run home run over the left field wall to raise the score to 9-0.

Phillips exited after the sixth inning. He gave up three runs on four hits through three innings.

Sophomore Mike Vasturia came on in the seventh inning to relieve Phillips. Willis led off with a solo home run over the center field wall, giving the Dukes a 10-0 lead. A passed ball then scored another run for the Dukes, making it 11-0. Nick Turnbull entered the game to relieve Vasturia, but allowed a pinch-hit RBI single to Carson Bell that raised the score to 12-0. Turnbull then walked a run in and gave up a sacrifice fly to make it 14-0.

Maryland scored its first run in the bottom of the seventh off a Ben Cowles single that drove in Justin Vought. Tuck Tucker came in and put up a scoreless eighth, but then Nick Robertson struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth. Tucker retired the side in order in the ninth, and Robertson returned the favor to finish the game.

The Terps will go on the road to Fairfax, Virginia, on Wednesday to face off against the George Mason Patriots. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.