Coach John Szefc had no answer when asked how he planned to fix the Terrapins baseball team’s midweek pitching. The Terps surrendered five home runs in a 10-8 loss to Delaware on Tuesday.
“That’s a great question,” Szefc said.
Szefc turned to right-hander John Murphy yesterday afternoon against George Washington, which had averaged just 2.6 runs per game in its past five contests.
But the freshman wasn’t the answer. He was pulled after 1.1 innings.
The Terps couldn’t figure out the Colonials’ offense in a 19-10 loss. The Terps allowed season highs in runs and hits (20).
“If you look at our numbers, that’s about as bad of a pitched game I’ve seen in four years here,” Szefc said. “There’s not anything I can positively say about our pitching and slightly about our defense.”
The Terps (5-7) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but George Washington (4-8), with a previous season high of eight runs, exploded for five runs in the second inning.
After Murphy allowed a run, George Washington loaded the bases and left-hander Tayler Stiles replaced the freshman. Stiles struggled too, though, as four more Colonials scored — three of the runs were issued to Murphy — and George Washington took a 5-2 lead.
Szefc said it was an uncharacteristic outing for Murphy, and right fielder Madison Nickens and second baseman Nick Dunn said they’re still confident in the rookie moving forward.
In the bottom of the second, the Terps regained the lead behind a three-run homer from Nickens and an RBI triple from designated hitter Nick Cieri.
“You just got to go up to the plate with the same approach every at-bat,” Dunn said. “Stick to what works for you. We did that as a team today and put up the runs; we just couldn’t get the win.”
But the Terps pitchers couldn’t solve George Washington’s bats. After Stiles gave up three runs in the fourth inning, he threw over first baseman Kevin Biondic’s head on a pickoff attempt. The Colonials’ ninth run scored, and right-hander Ryan Selmer replaced Stiles.
Nickens and Dunn responded with home runs in the fourth inning, but George Washington followed with two more the fifth. The Colonials continued to pile on runs the rest of the game to seal the victory.
In the past two contests, the Terps stranded an average of 13 runners on base, dropping both matches. The offense rebounded yesterday, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the anemic pitching.
“After a loss like that, nothing really feels great,” Nickens said. “You try to take as much positive out as you can. Eighteen hits is positive, but you got to want to get the win. We’re going to try to keep it rolling.”
The Terps have given up an average of 13.67 runs in their three midweek contests this year. After seven of Delaware’s 10 runs came off home runs Tuesday, the Colonials plated all their runs without a long ball.
The most runs the Terps had given up entering yesterday was 12 in a midweek game against the Blue Hens last week. That mark was broken yesterday, with Murphy starting in both contests.
“That’s about as disappointing as it can get,” Szefc said. “I’ll leave it at that.”
