Center fielder LaMonte Wade stepped up to bat in the second inning of the Terrapins baseball team’s game at Delaware Wednesday with a chance to add insurance to the Terps’ one-run lead.
Before Wade made contact, though, the Blue Hens catcher threw to first base in an attempt to pick off designated hitter Jamal Wade. The throw got away from the first baseman, which allowed third baseman Jose Cuas to score the second run of the contest.
Then LaMonte Wade singled to left field, bringing Jamal Wade and right fielder Anthony Papio home to increase the team’s lead to four runs. From there, the No. 21 Terps cruised to a 9-4 victory over Delaware for their fifth straight win.
“When you see the pitcher struggling a little bit, you want to keep having tough at-bats,” LaMonte Wade said. “Keep him out there on the mound for as long as you can. When we see the pitcher struggle, we try to play faster and keep on adding on runs and make it uncomfortable for him.”
The Terps recorded five of their seven hits against left-handed starter Colman Vila.
“[Vila] didn’t have a good feel on the strike zone,” Wade said. “We were waiting for him to throw a strike, and if he did throw a strike, we were ready to hit.”
Terps right-hander Taylor Bloom, who entered the game with an 0-1 record and a 5.14 ERA, earned his first collegiate win. He tossed five innings and allowed three runs, two earned, on seven hits.
After two scoreless Delaware frames to start the game, Bloom ran into some trouble in the third. With runners on the corners and no outs, catcher Justin Morris mishandled a passed ball and allowed Blue Hens shortstop Brock Niggebrugge to score Delaware’s first run. But after walking the next batter, Bloom retired three consecutive Blue Hens with runners on first and second to escape the jam.
“He worked efficiently,” Wade said. “He had hitters off balance. He did a great job today, something he can build on in his next start.”
Bloom encountered another setback in the fourth inning when Delaware catcher Ty Warrington drove in the Blue Hens’ second run with a double. With runners on the corners and two outs, though, the Terps picked off Warrington at third base to end the scoring threat.
In the sixth, Blue Hens left-hander Matt Hornich walked two runners, allowed two hits and threw a wild pitch as the Terps added three more runs. In total, Delaware’s four pitchers issued 10 walks.
“You always want your guys to be patient,” Terps coach John Szefc said. “You win baseball games because of a lot of the freebies you get. And we got 10 freebies today.”
Left-hander Eric Sawyer held the Terps hitless over the last two innings, but their early lead proved too much for Delaware to overcome.
After the Terps’ offense combined for two runs in a three-game skid, it has erupted for 37 during the five-game winning streak. And while Szefc still sees room for improvement, the offensive production was enough for the Terps to top Delaware for a second straight day.
“We had really good strike-zone discipline,” Szefc said. “We had some big hits and really tough at-bats early in the game. We struck out six times. Our goal is no more than five a game, so we were pretty close.”
