When the Terrapins baseball team lost Charlie White for the season to a broken hand almost two weeks ago, the impact was apparent – on paper, at least.
The Terps would have to play more than two-thirds of their schedule without their leadoff man and, perhaps more importantly, their center fielder.
In four of the next five games, coach Erik Bakich started Jordan Hagel, primarily the team’s right fielder, in center field with a rotating cast in the corner outfield spots.
Then Bakich decided on Korey Wacker in center field during last weekend’s series at Miami. It’s easy to see why he’ll stay there this afternoon against St. John’s.
“When Korey brings the defense and then shows what he can do offensively,” Bakich said, “it kind of becomes a no-brainer that we would go with Korey because he kind of brings to the table what Charlie White left, which is good defense, speed, the ability to get on base, steal bases, that type of guy.”
The move paid off Sunday in the Terps’ 6-4 win over the Hurricanes, as Wacker helped pace a Terps comeback by going 5-for-5 with two RBI and one run scored. For the weekend, the senior was 7-for-11 with another run scored on Saturday, leaving him with a .389 average, four RBI and four runs scored this season.
Explaining his success at the plate, the Harker Heights, Texas, native was quick to credit his teammates for his standout play.
“It really helps when your team’s behind you and has confidence in you,” Wacker said after Sunday’s win. “It really relaxed me up there.”
Wacker was the team’s primary center fielder last season, starting 53 games and batting .250 with 21 RBI. But the coaching staff wanted to change his role this year, using him as a left-handed relief pitcher in late-inning situations. So far, he’s made 10 relief appearances with a 3-0 record and 0.69 ERA, plus one save.
“Korey is still a tremendous asset to our pitching staff,” Bakich said Sunday. “He was warming up just in case at the end because he was the next guy we were going to go to because we knew we had to extend [closer Jimmy Reed].”
Even if Wacker isn’t on the mound, he can still make an impact on the pitching staff with his play in center field. In the first inning of the series opener with Miami, Wacker made a diving play in the field to end the inning. Bakich called Wacker’s defense throughout his time in College Park “stellar.”
“Defensively, we knew Korey would be fine because he’s just a really good athlete,” left fielder Michael Montville said. “But he’s just a competitor, so him being out there and able to do that, it was a great day for him.”
Bakich said Wacker will now take on the “dual role” of starting center fielder and reliever, just as he did a year ago.
Entering the matchup with St. John’s (13-10), Bakich said replacing White won’t be easy. His offensive and defensive contributions were too important to the Terps’ (16-9) success.
Still, Wacker knows that his coach and his team have confidence in him as the team moves deeper into ACC play.
“There’s not a guy that wouldn’t have another guy’s back in the game at any point,” Wacker said. “We’re all confident in each other and confidence is high. We have high expectations and our goal is still in mind. As a team, that’s what we’re working towards. We battle adversity with the best of them. All we can do is look forward to the next day.”
dgallen@umdbk.com
