Terrapins baseball right-hander Taylor Bloom was dealing.
The starter threw seven scoreless innings in the Terps’ game at Iowa on Saturday as coach John Szefc’s squad held a one-run lead before he was relieved at the start of the eighth. That’s when the Terps’ lead vanished.
The Terps bullpen gave up four runs in the eighth as Iowa went on to defeat the Terps, 4-1, to clinch the series victory.
The Terps offense struggled in its 8-1 loss at Iowa (9-11) on Friday, recording just six hits and going 1-for-18 with runners on base.
Saturday, the offense’s bats were quiet again, recording just five hits. This time, though, Bloom supported them early on.
While right-hander Mike Shawaryn allowed five runs over five innings Friday, Bloom gave up just five hits and walked one. But it wasn’t enough as left-hander Robert Galligan allowed three runs in the eighth.
Szefc’s team (10-12) struggled against Iowa right-hander Tyler Payton, who entered the contest 0-3 with a 6.16 ERA. They recorded just two hits through the first three innings. But first baseman Kevin Biondic changed that in the fourth when he hit his fourth home run of the season to give the Terps a 1-0 lead.
Neither team recorded another run until Bloom exited the game.
After Galligan, who entered the contest with the best ERA of the Terps’ bullpen, allowed two runners on base, Biondic underthrew second baseman Nick Dunn at first as second baseman Zach Daniels scored to tie the game. Szefc’s squad has now recorded at least one error in 12 of its past 13 contests.
So right-hander Ryan Selmer entered the game for Galligan with the bases loaded and no outs. Designated hitter Tyler Peyton then hit an RBI single to score two runs before a ground out scored another.
While the bullpen struggled, just three Terps recorded a hit, not giving the bullpen a comfortable lead late in the game.
In the Terps’ 10-9 win against Liberty on Tuesday, the bullpen stepped up to seal the Terps’ first victory in a midweek contest this season. Saturday, though, the bullpen couldn’t get the job done despite Bloom’s impressive outing.
