Nine games defined the 2008 Terrapin baseball season.
Nine one-run conference losses out of a four-month, 56-game season denied the Terps an the ACC tournament spot and the possibility of a postseason berth.
Despite finishing with a winning record of 30-26, winning 30 games for only the second time in school history and putting together a program-record 14-game nonconference winning streak, it was those close calls that prevented the Terps from competing in the rough-and-tumble ACC.
Whether it was by freak occurrence – such as when an overthrown ball rolled into the pocket of a Terps warm-up jacket lying by the fence, preventing the Terps from scoring the tying run against Clemson in a 2-1 loss on March 28 – or self-inflicted, the nine losses are hard to forget.
“I think about those nine games every day,” coach Terry Rupp said, before recounting what went wrong in one-run losses against Clemson and Wake Forest. “But there were a lot of things. I could go back and look at a lot of different games.”
In many of the games in question – on March 9 against Florida State, April 12 against Virginia or May 3 against Boston College – the Terps had runners in scoring position with fewer than two outs who they couldn’t drive in. Or they made one crucial defensive error, like on March 16 against Wake Forest.
The result was a 9-21 ACC record, which could mean a last-place finish in the Atlantic Division depending on what Boston College does in a series against Wake Forest this week.
It made the team’s primary goal of the season – finishing in the top eight of the ACC standings in order to make the ACC tournament in Jacksonville, Fla., and possibly earning an NCAA Regional tournament bid – difficult to achieve.
“Those one-run losses bother me a lot, especially when something like that bounces the other way,” senior catcher Chad Durakis said. “If half of those games go the other way, we are in much better position and probably going to Jacksonville right now.”
After a stirring series victory over then-No. 21 ranked Georgia Tech on the weekend of April 18 to 20, which included a comeback from eight runs down in the seventh inning on April 19, the Terps were in prime position to make the tournament.
Along with sophomore Scott Swinson’s no-hitter on May 13, it was the highlight of the Terps’ season and perhaps of some of the players’ entire four years in College Park.
“The [Georgia Tech] series as a whole was big,” senior shortstop Joe Palumbo said. “To come from behind on Friday night, and then to come from behind again on Saturday, is definitely a highlight of my career.”
But they lost five of their next six ACC games, including a sweep at the hands of last-place Boston College, to erase any legitimate shot at their season-long goal.
The Terps have to deal with managing a young and inexperienced pitching staff. The lack of quality pitching depth showed in blowout losses to highly-ranked teams such as Florida State, North Carolina and N.C. State.
But the main culprit was the inability to do the little things in close ballgames. Whether it was getting a successful sacrifice bunt down or driving in runners in scoring position, the Terps struggled to finish off games.
“We were right here on the verge,” Rupp said. “But it’s a fine line in this conference because it’s so competitive. So we really have to make sure we take care of smaller details during games.”
At other times, certain players looked talented enough to be playing on national title contenders like Florida State, North Carolina and Miami.
Junior designated hitter Jensen Pupa overcame a rocky stint as a starting pitcher to lead the Terps in hitting with a .322 batting average. Junior third baseman Mike Murphy led the team with 13 home runs and 42 RBI. Senior center fielder Nick Jowers displayed great defensive range and instincts patrolling center field. Durakis was also productive and tied for fifth on the Terps’ all-time hits list.
On the mound, senior Brad Taylor led the team in saves. Then there was Swinson, who, besides throwing a no-hitter in the team’s season finale at Delaware, established himself as a legitimate No. 1 ACC pitcher thanks to his advanced change-up.
With many of his important pieces returning, Rupp looks at 2008 as a season to build upon and learn from in time for the ACC and NCAA tournaments next season.
“I think that’s something we could look at and take into next season,” Rupp said. “The most important thing for us right now going into next year is the returning guys making improvements. We’re gonna look for them to be the glue that holds the thing together next year.”
That’s because the Terps will be receiving what Rupp called one of their most talented recruiting classes ever, and those freshmen are going to be expected to compete for starting spots vacated by four everyday players.
As one of those seniors, Durakis said he likes the direction the team is heading, citing the growth of a young pitching staff.
“I think they’re gonna have a really good team next year,” Durakis said. “And they’ll definitely have a good chance at making the ACC tournament.”
Unfortunately for Durakis and his fellow seniors, this year’s team wasn’t able to do that.
And it all came down to a handful of at-bats, defensive plays and situations in nine one-run games where the Terps could not capitalize.
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