As the 1-1 pitch came hurling toward the plate in the fourth inning last night, Terrapins baseball shortstop Blake Schmit squared up and placed a bunt down the first base line. While designated hitter Nick Cieri, the go-ahead run, sprinted home from third, Navy first baseman Kash Manzelli charged onto the infield turf. But Manzelli didn’t make the bare-handed grab, and the Terps’ gamble, a suicide squeeze, paid off.

Schmit’s bunt was one of three the Terps put down in a four-run fourth inning that broke last night’s game open. The Terps struggled to produce key hits in the four games leading up to the contest with the Midshipmen and stranded numerous base runners during that stretch.

But with the Terps sputtering offensively — they hadn’t scored more than four runs in each of the past four games — coach John Szefc jump-started the offense yesterday by using a small-ball approach to manufacture runs in an 11-4 victory over Navy yesterday at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium.

The Terps tallied 13 hits and scored nine of their runs in the fourth and seventh.

“As long as I’ve been doing this, I’ve never walked away from a game saying, ‘Man, that bunt game killed us today,’” Szefc said. “Sometimes you might not execute, but the bunt game certainly got our offense going today. It always puts more pressure on the defense.”

Szefc’s tactical adjustment accompanied a key lineup change. For the first time all season, center fielder Charlie White hit second, and second baseman Brandon Lowe took over the leadoff spot.

Szefc also changed his midweek rotation after left-hander Jake Drossner, the Terps’ top midweek starter, started Sunday’s 6-4 loss to Virginia Tech, and right-hander Bobby Ruse also pitched this weekend. Left-hander Zach Morris made his second start of the season yesterday and his first against a nonconference opponent. He gave up two runs, five hits and two walks in five innings.

Morris struggled with his control early, and Navy scored the first run of the game on a bases-loaded walk in the second inning.

The Terps got two runners on base and didn’t score in the first two innings against Navy right-hander Stephen Moore, a weekend starter.

But the Midshipmen replaced Moore with right-hander Kyle Condry, who entered Wednesday with a 6.30 ERA in 10 innings, before the third. Condry surrendered four earned runs over 2.2 innings and suffered the loss.

First baseman LaMonte Wade led off the fourth with a bunt single and then scored on a passed ball. After Schmit’s bunt, third baseman Jose Cuas hit a two-run homer, his team-leading fourth of the season, to give the Terps a 4-1 lead.

“This is a big game for us,” said Cuas, who went 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored. “We’ve had guys who had been slumping lately come through and get hits, drive in runs.”

The Midshipmen plated a run in the fifth but didn’t tally a hit in the next two innings. In the seventh, the Terps used another big inning to seal the victory.

Four of the Terps’ five runs in the seventh came with two outs. White trotted home with the first run of the inning after a throwing error on his steal attempt. Two batters later, Schmit drove in a run with a double down the left field line, the first of three straight RBI hits.

Schmit, who went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored, was one of three Terps who had a multi-hit game. Cieri went 3-for-4.

“I’m just trying to scratch and claw for every playing opportunity I get, as much playing time as I can, so I can stay in the lineup and help contribute to this team,” said Cieri, who has split time this season with catcher Kevin Martir.

The Terps enter this weekend’s series against No. 25 Georgia Tech coming off a dominant offensive performance. While the Terps’ success against the Midshipmen was in line with the rest of their play this season — their offense has thrived against nonconference foes — they have struggled to produce against ACC competition.

Still, the Terps know they can always return to small ball. That approach jolted the offense yesterday and gave the Terps a boost before a crucial conference series.

“It’s good to bounce back and put up double digit runs,” Cuas said. “Georgia Tech won a series at Florida State, so they are coming in with their heads high, so it’s important for us to come in with the same confidence they have.”