Offense has rarely been the leading problem during Maryland baseball’s shaky 2026 season. The Terps boast the second-most runs scored in the Big Ten and are tied for 20th nationally.
But Friday’s game against Rutgers saw Maryland’s bats go silent. The Terps scored only three runs, including just one through the first six innings, leading to their 5-3 loss at Bainton Field to begin a critical Big Ten series.
While Jordan Crosland and Bud Coombs combined for six hits, the rest of Maryland’s offense failed
to make a similar impact. The other hitters in the Terps’ batting order logged just two hits in their 27 plate appearances.
Those offensive struggles overshadowed another stellar outing from Cristofer Cespedes.
The 6-foot-5 right-hander allowed just one run in his previous start despite the last-minute notice — he found out hours before first pitch after Logan Hastings was scratched with an illness. Cespedes was just as dominant on Friday.
He went seven innings and punched out seven hitters. Despite conceding five runs, only one was earned. Cespedes has now allowed just one earned run across his last nearly 19 innings of work.
It didn’t start out promising, though.
After retiring the first two batters, Brayden Martin’s throwing error kept Rutgers alive in the opening frame. The Scarlet Knights quickly pounced. Matt Chatelle and Ryan Jaros smashed consecutive home runs to open a three-run lead.
But Cespedes settled back in. The sophomore sent down nine of the ensuing 11 hitters to keep Rutgers off the board over the next three innings. Still, he didn’t get much run support.
Devin Russell and Crosland ripped back-to-back extra-base hits before Martin’s sacrifice fly plated Maryland’s opening run. That was the Terps’ lone score until its late-inning surge.
While Jack Sweeney’s infield hit plated Rutgers’ fourth run in the fifth, Maryland’s second error — a misfired pickoff attempt from Cespedes — allowed Tyler Wiltsey to advance into scoring position.
Coombs attempted to will the Terps back into the game. He clobbered a 396-foot bomb with two outs in the seventh inning. Coombs wasn’t done just yet. The standout freshman outfielder drove in Ty Kaunas in the ninth inning for his third hit of the game.
But Coombs was stranded in scoring position after Aden Hill and Russell rolled over a pair of routine grounders, ending Maryland’s comeback effort.
The ending highlighted a looming theme from the Terps’ defeat; they were just 2-for-12 with runners on base and 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position. Maryland left Crosland and Martin standing at second base in the third and eighth innings.
Still, three costly errors didn’t help. Those mistakes allowed Rutgers to put traffic on the basepaths and ultimately contributed to four of its five runs scored. The Terps entered Friday’s game with the 35th-worst fielding percentage in the country and the worst clip in the Big Ten.
With five conference games remaining, Maryland’s chances of reaching the Big Ten Tournament are slim. The Terps sit in last place with a 6-19 record, but have opportunities to make up ground on Rutgers, the current last team in the field.
In other news
Katie Dutko recorded Maryland track and field’s ninth-best 5k mark ever with a time of 16:59.
Maryland men’s basketball’s incoming freshman Baba Oladotun was selected to USA Basketball’s U18 national team training camp roster.
Maryland softball infielder Sammi Woods was named as a the Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree.
Maryland women’s basketball forward Marya Boiko will return for her sophomore season.
