After Game 1 against No. 1 UCLA ended in the seventh inning due to the run rule on Friday, Maryland baseball was out for revenge.
Its bid for vengeance was strong, as it outhit the Bruins Saturday, 13-10. But it couldn’t keep up on the scoreboard.
The Terps ultimately fell to UCLA, 8-3, at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles. Maryland has now lost their second Big Ten series in a row after losing two out of three games against Purdue last weekend.
With two outs in the top of the first inning, catcher
Rylen Stockton collected his 13th RBI of the season with a double to left field, giving Maryland a one-run head start.
But UCLA didn’t allow the Terps to hold any sort of lead for long.
In the bottom of the first, Bruins’ infielder Roman Martin tied the game with a double RBI. With two runners on base, Payton Brennan blasted a home run over the left field wall on his first pitch, making it a 4-1 game.
Maryland senior Aden Hill recorded his third home run of the season to give the Terps another run in the top of the second.
The Bruins responded quickly, extending their lead in the bottom of the third with a sacrifice fly to center field by Will Gasparino. That hit was followed by another RBI by Cashel Dugger, giving UCLA a four-run advantage.
Maryland scored its last run of the game in the top of the fourth inning, as redshirt junior Devin Russell launched his second double of the season to bring in the Terps’ third run.
With the bases loaded, sophomore right-handed pitcher Cristofer Cespedes took the mound in place of Evan Smith in the bottom of the fourth. After walking one runner to make it a 7-3 game, Cespedes closed the inning with a strikeout and fielder’s choice to third base.
Cespedes dominated the mound, holding the Bruins entirely scoreless until the eighth inning. The sophomore threw seven strikes and only allowed five walks through the 19 batters he faced.
The Terps created multiple scoring opportunities but struggled to follow through, recording 13 hits and only three runs. At least one of Maryland’s runners were left on base at the end of each inning aside from one.
Tensions began to rise in the eighth inning.
Maryland kicked off the frame with a walk, which was followed by a single by freshman Nate Hawton-Henley — his second hit of the game in his third start of the season.
UCLA inserted its third pitcher, Chris Grothues, with two runners on base. Grothues struck out Hill, but the Bruins replaced him with Cal Randall after he only threw four pitches. Randall recorded his first strikeout, but walked junior Brayden Martin to load the bases.
The Bruins were quick to replace Randall with their fifth pitcher of the game, Easton Hawk. David Mendez stepped up to the plate with hopes of bringing home at least one of the three runners on base. Instead, he grounded out to second base on his first pitch.
In the bottom of the eighth, Cespedes walked Phoenix Call before striking out Dean West. With one runner on base, Cholowsky blasted a double down the left field line, bringing Call home and making it an 8-3 game.
After walking another batter, Landon Edwards replaced Cespedes and recorded the final out with a strikeout.
Maryland had one last chance in the top of the ninth to bring in more runs after two walks, but it failed to do any significant damage.
The Terps will try to avoid the sweep during Game 3 on Sunday.
Three things to know
1. Maryland’s bullpen was much more reliable Saturday. During Game 1, Maryland’s bullpen hit six batters total — two were hit twice. While the Terps threw seven strikeouts on Friday and eight on Saturday, four fewer runs were allowed.
2. The Terps’ offense improved since Game 1. Maryland’s bats seemed to move a lot more on Saturday compared to Friday. The Terps recorded one more run than the day before, but also registered four more hits. The Terps were also more calculated while facing UCLA’s pitchers during Game 2, walking four more times than in Game 1.
3. Can Maryland avoid the sweep? On Saturday, the Bruins went through five pitchers to keep up with the Terps. Although Maryland lost by five runs, it was five fewer runs allowed than in Game 1, where they were destroyed 12-2 in a contest that ended in the seventh inning. If the Terps keep their bats moving, they may have a chance of avoiding the sweep. Sophomore Jake Yeager will take the mound for Game 3 — he has only lost one game out of his five starts.
