In the top of the sixth inning, Maryland baseball’s Devin Russell set his feet for his second at-bat of the day. On an empty count with runners on the corners, Russell swung, blasting his first home run of the season over the left field fence to put the Terps ahead.
Just two batters later, an RBI single from Ryan Costello widened Maryland’s lead to two.
That lead didn’t even last a full inning.
Richmond’s Dylan Winebrenner smashed a double down the third-base foul line, posting a two-RBI to tie the game
once again.
Maryland could never hold the lead for more than one inning against Richmond, eventually sliding to a 7-5 defeat.
Rylen Stockton hit a sacrifice fly into third-base foul territory to bring Brayden Martin around the horn in the top of the first inning. The junior utility player scored after stealing his ninth base of the season.
Richmond’s Aidan O’Keefe pulled a similar maneuver, posting a sacrifice bunt to bring his teammate Chris Scheller home to tie the game in the bottom of the second.
With two outs left in the same inning, redshirt junior Jackson Kraemer hit his first career home run to deep left field for a two-run shot, seizing the lead for the Spiders.
Maryland pitcher Nic Morlang made his longest outing of the year against Richmond, staying on the mound for four full frames. After giving up six runs against West Virginia last week, the freshman right-hander allowed three total runs over the 20 batters he faced.
To close his tenure, Morlang allowed back-to-back hits in the bottom of the fourth, but diligent work from Maryland’s infield staff closed the inning without a run.
Kaunas performed well at shortstop for the Terps on Tuesday. To close the fifth inning, umpires determined that Kaunas caught Richmond’s Ryan Recio stealing second base, skimming the back of the runner’s left leg as he dove to the base.
In the bottom of the sixth, following Winebrenner’s two-RBI hit, Richmond’s Michael Elko replicated the effort, bringing home Winebrenner and Grant Kennedy with a single to center field. The Terps suddenly trailed the Spiders once again.
Richmond had a chance to pile on more runs — it loaded the bases behind Elko, putting pressure on Maryland. Chris Schaller had a chance to do more, but he sent his hit toward the moon. Ryan Costello camped under the fly ball in short right field, catching it to clear the bases and avoid any further damage.
Morlang’s reliever, Landon Edwards, made his exit after one and two-thirds innings after being credited with four Richmond runs. The junior only logged one strikeout against 10 batters.
While Maryland’s batting rotation couldn’t log another base hit in through the seventh and eighth innings, its defense kept the Spiders off of the bases. Through all nine innings, Richmond only logged nine hits.
With two outs to go in the ninth, Rylen Stockton managed to single through right-center field, keeping Maryland’s game alive. However, a groundout from Paul Jones II ended the game, costing the Terps their second midweek matchup.
Three things to know
1. New kid on the diamond. Nate Hawton-Henley put on a show in just his second start of the season. The freshman logged his third run of the season, stole one base and never struck out against Richmond’s pitching staff.
2. Andrew Koshy pitches in. Koshy closed the pitching for the Terps following Edwards’ four-run mishap. The junior pitched for two scoreless innings, only issuing one walk and allowing one hit. Additionally, Koshy posted three strikeouts against the nine batters he faced.
“[Koshy] did a good job stabilizing for us,” head coach Matt Swope said.
3. Sneaking around the diamond. The Terps were eager to get into scoring position against Richmond, logging their most bags stolen since March 5 against Wagner. Brayden Martin stole one on Tuesday, bringing his season total to nine. Martin is currently tied for third in the Big Ten for most stolen bases.
