Behind three 2-run home runs, Maryland baseball won its first game of the season 9-5 over the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.
Nick Cieri, Anthony Papio and Madison Nickens each went deep to break open a 6-1 lead in the 4th, and Maryland was able to fight off a late comeback attempt from Alabama.
A day after scoring the Terps' lone run, Cieri finished with 3 RBIs after a 5th inning single sent Nick Dunn home for the score.
An eighth-inning 2-run double from Nick Biondic gave the Terps a safety net heading into the final stretch.
Taylor Bloom got the start for the Terps, and in 5 innings he gave up 3 runs on 8 hits including a home run, walked a pair and struck out 5. The Crimson Tide had 13 hits in the game and left 10 men on base.
Ryan Selmer earned a save after pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings, coming out unscathed in the 9th for Maryland despite giving up a double. He struck out three of the nine batters he faced.
The series is knotted up at a game apiece and the teams will wrap it up at 1 p.m. on Sunday.