The Terrapins baseball team had no answer for East Carolina right-hander Jimmy Boyd early on Sunday. With two outs in the fifth inning, Boyd, who had allowed two hits in the contest, retired seven straight batters.
But with Boyd one strike away from ending the frame, shortstop Kevin Smith took the senior deep to open the scoring. His home run ignited the Terps offense, which added another run in the frame that forced Boyd out of the game.
Since Smith was slotted as the lead-off hitter Feb. 28, he’s boosted his level of play and has helped the Terps break out of their slump at the plate. He’ll look to continue to set the tone for this team when they face Delaware in Bel Air on Tuesday afternoon.
“Kevin is a typical lead-off hitter,” third baseman Andrew Bechtold said. “He can hit for power and he can bunt. A lot of guys are really comfortable with him hitting up in that position because you know he’s always going to battle. We get rolling a lot quicker.”
Right fielder Madison Nickens led off in the team’s first four games of the season, but the Terps offense was sluggish in those contests, scoring a combined 13 runs. They went 2-3 during that stretch.
Coach John Szefc swapped Nickens out of the lead-off role after the Terps scored one run in back-to-back contests against Alabama and Rhode Island, respectively, and opted for Nick Dunn to assume those responsibilities.
But when Dunn failed to record a hit in a game in which the Terps scored one run, the fourth-year coach made yet another switch atop the lineup for his squad’s series finale with the Rams. Smith, who recorded a hit and scored twice, spearheaded an offense that tied a season-high scoring total in the Terps’ 13-10 win.
And over in the five contests since Nickens’ switch, Szefc’s team has averaged 8.2 runs per game.
Not only has the move improved the Terps, but it has also aided Smith in breaking out of an early slump. After starting the season 4-for-19 (.211), Smith is batting .333 since moving into the one hole.
“Since he’s been put in that role, he’s been pretty productive,” Szefc said. “He normally gives us pretty tough at-bats. He’s a talented hitter and the combination of that with experience makes him the best candidate to hit in the top of the lineup.”
Smith, who started 65 of 66 games and hit .273 as a freshman last season, said he hasn’t changed his approach at the plate despite batting in different spots in the order.
That success has carried over to this season, as Smith holds the fourth-highest batting average on the team.
Leading up to the Terps’ 4-3 loss to the Pirates on Sunday, the Terps had scored at least seven runs in their previous four contests. After putting up seven runs against the Blue Hens (6-4) in a loss last week, Smith hopes to guide the Terps (5-5) to a victory this time around with more experience in the lead-off spot.
“You’re still trying to drive guys in when they’re there,” Smith said. “Sometimes you’re just trying to set the table, especially with the hitters we have. It all depends on the situation. After the first few innings, it doesn’t really matter where you’re hitting because you’re expected to do it all.”
