Last week the Terrapin baseball team celebrated a late-inning comeback win over Maryland-Baltimore County. Last night, the Terps were on the opposite side of a similar late-inning rally.
UMBC scored five unanswered runs in the final four innings to defeat the Terps, 9-7, at Shipley Field. Rightfielder Mike Scheffel hit two home runs for the Retrievers, including a game-winning two-run shot in the ninth inning.
With one runner on base, one out and the game tied 7-7, Scheffel launched a pitch from junior Terp pitcher Seth Overbey into dead centerfield. Terp centerfielder Truan Mehl barely moved as he watched it sail over his head and out of the park.
“I was just looking for a strike,” Scheffel said. “[Overbey] threw a fastball low and inside; I got a good bat on it, and it went out.”
The Terps (14-17) put two men on base in the bottom of the ninth, but junior third baseman Matt Maropis flew out to end the ballgame. Maropis led the Terps with four hits and three RBIs.
After the game, head coach Terry Rupp suggested the letdown might have occurred because of his team’s upcoming series with No. 7-ranked North Carolina.
“I don’t know if we’re looking forward to North Carolina,” Rupp said. “But they deserve a lot of credit. They outplayed us.”
The Terps commanded the game until the sixth inning. With a 7-4 lead, Scheffel hit his first home run, a line drive to right field that just curved inside the foul pole. It was freshman starting pitcher Mike Sufczynski’s last batter as he gave way to freshman Brad Taylor.
An error, a single and a hit-batsman loaded the bases for UMBC (6-13) with one out. Retriever shortstop Anthony Socarras hit an RBI groundout to cut the deficit to 7-6 before Taylor struck out the ensuing batter to end the inning.
The Retrievers tied the game in the top of the seventh off freshman pitcher Brett Tidball. He lasted only two-thirds of an inning after giving up a single and RBI double to consecutive batters.
“We just got ourselves into trouble,” Rupp said about the pitching. “We hit a couple guys and walked a couple guys, and then [Scheffel] hit the home run. We have to be able to locate our pitches better and throw strikes.”
The Terps used a four-run third inning to gain the early lead on UMBC. They had five hits and batted around in the inning. The Terps also scored in the next two innings, but Retriever pitcher Blake Phippswere shut them down the rest of the way.
Phipps earned the win by pitching three scoreless innings while giving up only two hits.
The Terps will have to regroup before this weekend’s important series with the Tar Heels. Currently, the Terps are in ninth place in the ACC and one game out of seventh. The top seven seeds earn a first round bye in the playoffs.
“We’re gonna have to get back to practice [today] and get our minds right,” Rupp said.
TERP NOTES: Leftfielder Will Frazier extended his hit streak to 12 games and moved into a tie for second place on the team’s all-time extra base hits list with 80. … Brian Jarosinski returned as the team’s designated hitter after missing eight straight games with a sprained left knee.
