When Terrapins baseball left fielder Marty Costes transferred to Archbishop Curley High School his junior year, the school’s coach Brooks Norris didn’t have high expectations for the newcomer.
But after showcasing his swing for the first time, Costes set himself apart from his teammates. At one of the first batting practices of the season, players and coaches stopped what they were doing to watch Costes crush balls over the fence.
“He was the guy who could hit five, six, seven home runs in a row that weren’t just getting out of the park,” Norris said. “They were clearing the fence by 50 feet. It was pretty special.”
Two years later, in his freshman season with the Terps, the rookie has proved he can hit at the college level, too. In his second start Tuesday against Delaware, Costes recorded his first hit and finished 2-for-3 with an RBI.
He’ll look to continue his momentum at the plate when the Terps travel to North Carolina this weekend for games against Tennessee, Southeastern Louisiana and East Carolina.
“Usually guys like that are really free-swingers: they’ll swing at anything and chase out of the zone,” coach John Szefc said. “He’s not that way. That’s kind of what’s gotten him in the lineup.”
Szefc has been tinkering with the lineup, replacing about one or two regular starters each game with younger players to see how they perform in certain roles. Second baseman Nick Dunn is the lone freshman who’s seen more playing time than Costes, who Szefc said has one of the strongest swings on the team.
While Costes failed to record a hit in his first five at-bats, Szefc remained confident in the first-year player and continued to give him opportunities.
“He was a guy that really battled,” Norris said. “He rarely got out without hitting the ball hard at somebody.”
Costes characterizes himself as a “gritty” player, and first baseman Kevin Biondic said the Baltimore native is difficult to strike out, even in the Terps’ intrasquad scrimmages.
Before the game Tuesday, Costes spoke with Director of Baseball Operations Matt Swope about improving his strike-zone discipline and taking breaking balls early in the count. He then put together his best offensive performance of the year.
“It’s good to have a guy who stepped up like that in a big situation,” Biondic said. “Maybe he’s not starting the next day, but when he comes off the bench, everyone’s going to have confidence in him at the plate. He gained a lot of trust with the team, which is huge.”
Costes said his toughest transition to college baseball has been adjusting to playing outfield. The 5-foot-9, 200-pound left fielder played third base up until his senior year of high school. But because of the Terps’ depth in the infield, Norris decided playing Costes in the outfield would increase his chances to play once he got to college.
It hasn’t been an easy transition, though. Costes, a three-sport athlete in high school, also played running back and point guard, positions in which he was involved in almost every play.
So it’s been tough for him to adapt to a position that doesn’t receive as much action. Even Costes said he needed to improve as an outfielder.
While he learns to make better reads in the field, Costes has proven he can be one of the Terps’ top hitters seven contests into his career. This weekend, regardless of his role, Costes hopes to help the Terps rebound from their loss Tuesday with his potent swing.
“He probably has the most power on our team,” Szefc said. “The more he plays, the better he’s going to be. His tools really help him project to be a pro-type outfielder down the road.”
