Chris Alleyne homers twice as Maryland baseball wins rubber match with Stetson, 8-4

Starting with center fielder Chris Alleyne’s leadoff double against Stetson on Sunday, Maryland baseball got off to a quick start.

Third baseman Taylor Wright drove Alleyne in with an RBI two batters later for the first of six runs scored in the first five innings for the Terps.

And with a solid start from right-hander Trevor LaBonte, who didn’t allow a hit until the fifth, Maryland hung onto an early lead despite a late slip-up from the bullpen to secure an 8-4 rubber-match victory.

The Terps won a series against the Hatters for the second straight season, building off a strong seven-inning, 10-strikeout shutout on Friday.

After just 1.1 innings Sunday, Stetson pulled left-hander Austin Bogart, a primary outfielder who had only featured in relief twice this season before his start against Maryland, putting the pressure on a shorthanded Hatters pitching staff to stop the Terps at the plate.

Despite switching to right-hander Zemp Schwab, the Hatters couldn’t stop coach Rob Vaughn’s offense. Right fielder Randy Bednar drove in second baseman Tommy Gardiner with a sacrifice fly in the second inning and catcher Justin Vought smoked a line drive down the left field line, scoring shortstop Benjamin Cowles.

Stetson went to its bullpen again to start the fourth, bringing in left-hander Mitchell Senger, in an effort to placate the Terps bats. But the pitching change seemed to have the opposite effect.

Alleyne clobbered a two-run homer over the left field wall in the fourth for his first home run of his career, and Vought followed with a solo home run to left-center, putting the Terps up 6-0.

After the barrage, however, LaBonte began to unravel. The Hatters scored a run in the bottom of the fifth and added two more in the sixth before a wild pitch and walk led Vaughn to go to the bullpen, ending LaBonte’s outing after five-plus innings.

Right-hander Will Glock entered with runners on the corners and nobody out, and he slammed the door with a strikeout, popout and flyout, preserving Maryland’s lead at 6-3. That closed the book on LaBonte after three runs on five hits, striking out three and walking two.

But with one out in the seventh, Glock walked the bases loaded, and Vaughn again made a change. A run scored on a passed ball, but right-hander Nick Turnbull and left-hander Andrew Vail didn’t allow any other Hatters to cross in the inning.

Then, after Alleyne’s second blast restored Maryland’s lead at 8-4, closer John Murphy threw a scoreless two innings to secure Maryland’s series win.