Outfielder LaMonte Wade runs to third during the Terps’ 3-1 loss to VCU at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium on April 22.

Terrapins center fielder LaMonte Wade needed a break.

A week after he returned to the field from a broken hamate bone, Wade’s hand was sore. So after playing in four straight games Wade sat out the Terps’ weekend series with Cal State Fullerton.

In his absence, the Terps won the series and a healthier Wade returned to the starting lineup Tuesday. Though the Terps dropped both midweek games to VCU, Wade reached base in five of his eight at-bats to lead the team.

With the offense reeling with two runs combined in the last three games, the No. 21 Terps will lean on Wade’s resurgent bat when they travel to Purdue this weekend in an attempt to snap a three-game losing streak.

“We need all the help we can get offensively, so getting that guy back into the good graces is something we’re going to need,” coach John Szefc said. “He’s looked pretty good. One of our few bright spots offensively lately.”

In the second game of a doubleheader against UNC Wilmington on March 7, Wade broke his hand swinging at a pitch. He said the typical recovery time is six weeks, but he returned to play less than five weeks after the injury.

Two days before Wade returned to the starting lineup against Iowa, he practiced for the first time since suffering the broken bone. The next day, he came in as a ninth-inning defensive replacement for freshman center fielder Kengo Kawahara, and on April 11 he went 1-for-3 in the nine hole. But Wade went 1-for-9 over the next two games.

After starting in two straight midweek games in which he went 3-for-6 with two walks, an RBI and a run, Wade said his hand felt good.

“Offensively I had to make quite an adjustment,” Wade said. “Everything looks like it’s 103 miles an hour.”

Still, Terps catcher Kevin Martir hasn’t noticed a drop-off in Wade’s performance at the plate since his return.

“He’s given us good at-bats,” Martir said. “He’s getting his swing off. It’s like he never missed a beat.”

While Wade started at first base through his sophomore year, he moved to the outfield this offseason. Before the season started, third baseman Jose Cuas raved about Wade’s arm and ability to cover ground in center.

The junior started the first 11 games of the season in center field until his injury. Kawahara patrolled the area in his absence, but Wade has reassumed the position without issues.

Before the injury, Wade batted second in the lineup, and in his first four games back, he hit either eight or ninth. But Szefc moved Wade into the leadoff spot Wednesday.

“When he’s going good he’s one of our best guys,” Szefc said of Wade. “So to have him hit one or two, that’s not a really hard decision.”

In the two games against VCU this week, Wade was involved in both runs the Terps scored. Tuesday, he singled in a run, his first RBI since March 7, and Wednesday he scored on second baseman Brandon Lowe’s eighth-inning single.

Wade missed 20 games while recovering from his broken hamate bone, and he missed another three this past weekend while he rested his hand.

After those two periods of absence, though, Wade has been the most productive hitter in a slumping offense.

“I’m just getting back into the flow of things,” Wade said. “It feels good to be back.”