Every day for the past month, Maryland baseball pitching coach Corey Muscara has sent starter Mark DiLuia direct messages on Twitter and other platforms about mental toughness, trying to buoy the freshman after a difficult start to his career. Before DiLuia took the mound Tuesday against William & Mary, Muscara told him not to allow any batter to outcompete him.

When the first batter of the game doubled and came around to score on an RBI single, it seemed DiLuia was in the midst of a fifth consecutive poor outing. But the right-hander rebounded from a shaky first inning to supply the Terps a six-inning, four-hit quality start.

Though the Terps lost 6-3 in 11 innings, the game began with a rare solid performance from a Maryland midweek starter — and displayed the promise coach Rob Vaughn believes could allow DiLuia to earn a spot in next year’s weekend rotation.

[Read more: Bullpen depth costs Maryland baseball in extra-inning 6-3 loss to William & Mary]

“Today kind of helped me realize again what kind of stuff I can do, what I can be,” DiLuia said. “I just did a good job moving the ball in and out and mixing [in] the changeup, which normally I don’t really have.”

The first batter DiLuia faced as a Terp hit a grand slam. North Carolina ripped apart his fastball on March 20, tagging him for nine runs on 14 hits in six innings. The Flossmour, Illinois, native’s struggles have played a role in Maryland’s 2-6 midweek record.

On Tuesday, though, increased command of his pitches led to a marked improvement.

“He settled in, and I thought he got stronger,” Vaughn said. “We were saying, ‘If we can get a good five out of him today, we’ve got a full bullpen, we feel pretty good about it.’ And shoot, he turned in six innings. Gave us a great chance to get the win. Like I said, we just couldn’t cash in.”

DiLuia entered Tuesday’s start with an 8.28 ERA and a .360 batting average against. He continued that form in the first inning. After the leadoff double, DiLuia didn’t trust the pitch call of an 0-2 fastball, so he dropped his release point, something the coaching staff had never seen him try before.

Designated hitter Hunter Smith took the pitch the other way for an RBI single.

The ill-fated improvisation is evidence Muscara still has work to do in improving the mental side of DiLuia’s game, just as the following five innings showed the freshman’s physical tools and potential despite his struggles in his first several college appearances.

“There’s some growing pains with guys, whether it’s trying to be a little too fine and getting behind hitters or even the case at [North] Carolina, where he almost threw too many strikes,” Vaughn said. “[If] he can go out there and give us five or six every Tuesday, which is what he’s fully capable of, that sets everything up to be successful.”