Maryland baseball coach Rob Vaughn gathered his team in the dugout before the Terps took batting practice Saturday.
In the team’s game the night prior, strikeouts and pop flies resulted in a 4-2 defeat to Michigan State — Maryland’s seventh straight conference loss. That frustrated the first-year coach.
However, Vaughn knew desperate measures — such as forcing his lineup to swing down on the ball to counteract the 11 weak fly balls he counted — wouldn’t increase productivity in a crucial Big Ten series.
Instead, he implored the Terps to turn their attention toward their batting practice approach, hoping a return to fundamental swings could carry over to the game.
Vaughn’s inclination proved beneficial, as Maryland combined for 13 runs in the final two contests of the weekend, securing its first series win in a month and positioning itself for a late push toward conference tournament contention. The Terps will again hope its batting practice approach results in the ability to reach base more frequently Tuesday against West Virginia.
“We’ve had kind of a grind-it-out year up to this point, and I think as coaches it’s really easy for us just to take our frustration out on hitters and go yell at them and tell them to chop everything down into the ground and hit it flat because they’re not any good,” Vaughn said. “But really, it’s like, get back to who you are.”
After Sunday’s 5-3 win against the Spartans, the Terps are in 10th place in the Big Ten, two games back from qualifying for the eight-team conference tournament. With three series left, Maryland’s position in the standings is the result of its inconsistent offense.
[Read more: Marty Costes’ grand slam powers Maryland baseball’s 5-3 win over Michigan State]
Vaughn predicted before the season that his team would boast notable power, and that projection has been accurate — the Terps are third in the conference with 36 homers. But the team’s clout hasn’t helped its batting average or timely hitting. Maryland is batting .230 this season, the second-worst mark in the Big Ten, compared to .274 in 2017.
Though the Terps prioritized hitting line drives toward the middle of the field during warmups, six of Maryland’s runs this weekend came via home runs. Still, catcher Justin Morris felt the emphasis on batting practice success helped the Terps make better contact and shrug off two straight series sweeps.
“Sometimes we’ll get in there and try to hit homers and hit the ball deep,” Morris said. “If you’re popping the ball up in [batting practice], then you’re either going to miss it in the game or foul it back or hit a pop. I think that putting more focus on it can help translate to the game.”
For a team that has often been unable to find the big hit in crucial situations, those shortcomings can breed doubt. But Vaughn remembered after Sunday’s game what former Maryland coach John Szefc used to tell his hitters: “Whatever you think will happen, will happen.”
[Read more: Nick Dunn clubs two homers in Maryland baseball’s 8-2 win over Michigan State]
When first baseman Kevin Biondic hit a two-run single Saturday to cap a four-run second inning, and when left fielder Marty Costes smashed a grand slam Sunday, the Terps hoped they could turn the corner offensively.
Though Tuesday’s matchup doesn’t have major implications for Maryland’s position in the Big Ten, it doesn’t stop the Terps from wanting to carry over their batting practice diligence from Michigan State to Morgantown, West Virginia.
“It all started in our batting practice approach,” Costes said. “It’s just a mental thing at that point.”
