Maryland baseball crushed in 13-3 seven-inning loss to Penn State

Maryland attempted to catch up to Penn State in the bottom of the third with a two-run home run by junior David Mendez over the right center wall. The junior’s 10th slam this season flew off the bat at 108 mph.

Mendez’s homer also marked Maryland’s final runs of the contest.

The Nittany Lions extended their lead in the top of the fourth after a two-run home run by Maddox McDonald to center field.

Right-hander Andrew Koshy took the mound in place of Edwards with no outs. Following a single through left field and strikeout, Penn State’s Michael Anderson notched another two-run blast to make it an 8-3 game.

The Terps left three runners on base once again in the bottom of the fourth after a single and two walks. Penn State brought in right-hander Ben DeMell with two outs, and he struck out redshirt freshman Ryan Costello to end the inning.

“It was going to be a slug it out day, and [we] needed to just get a couple more big swings in those situations,” Swope said. “We didn’t do enough offensively today in those situations.”

The Nittany Lions snagged another four runs in the top of the fifth after an RBI double by McDonald down the left field line slid right under Martin’s glove. A walk loaded the bases before Anderson drove a two-run RBI single between shortstop and third base.

Penn State’s Bryce Molinaro then doubled off the left field wall. A runner scored from third, but Anderson was thrown out on the relay to home.

Maryland failed to score throughout the remainder of the game. The Nittany Lions scored one more in the top of the sixth after back-to-back failed pickoff attempts to give them a 10-run lead.

Right-hander Quinn Yellin made his third appearance of the season in the top of the seventh and managed to keep Penn State scoreless for the second frame of the night.

However, the Terps failed to bring any runs in the bottom of the seventh, causing the game to prematurely end for their seventh run-rule ending and final series-opener of the season.

“The things that we’ve struggled with are pretty apparent, but we’re continuing to struggle with those things [injuries] too,” Swope said.

Three things to know

1. Lack of offense. Maryland has scored less than four runs in 13 out of its 54 games this season. Two days prior to Thursday night’s game, the Terps slammed 14 hits against Georgetown including four home runs and 11 RBIs. Thursday, Maryland recorded eight hits and one home run against Penn State.

2. Stranded runners. The Terps stranded a total of 12 runners on base Thursday night, including leaving the bases loaded twice. Costello has the most grand slams in the nation with four, but failed to make it five during his at bat in the bottom of the fourth.
3. Busted bullpen. The Terps went through five pitchers Thursday night after going through seven on Tuesday against Penn State. The five pitchers allowed 12 earned runs, walking eight batters and throwing seven strikeouts.