Maryland baseball right-hander Brian Shaffer struggled in his first two starts of the season, earning a loss in the first outing and only managing 2.1 innings in the second.
But since that brief outing against Rhode Island on Feb. 28, the sophomore had thrown at least five innings in his previous seven starts, including two complete games in fewer than 100 pitches. Friday afternoon against Purdue, however, Shaffer’s performance mirrored that of his early-season woes.
Making his first start on a Friday after usual starter right-hander Taylor Bloom rolled his ankle in practice Thursday, Shaffer allowed five runs in 3.1 frames, his shortest outing since facing the Rams.
Without support from the offense, Maryland fell to the Boilermakers, 7-1, at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium.
Purdue and Maryland entered Friday with the two worst batting averages in the Big Ten — .254 and .258, respectively. But after Shaffer held Minnesota, which boasts the conference’s best offense, to two runs in eight innings last weekend, the Pylesville native couldn’t replicate that success against a less formidable lineup.
The Boilermakers (7-28, 2-11 Big Ten) hit .324 against the Terps, while Maryland, which has been inconsistent at the plate throughout the campaign, went 2-for-12 with runners on base. Purdue starter right-hander Gavin Downs, who entered with a 6.27 ERA, allowed one run in eight innings.
Purdue got on the board first and didn’t slow down after Shaffer gave up his fourth home run of the year when Boilermakers center fielder Kyle Johnson, who held the best batting average on his team entering Friday, took him deep over center field in the first.
The Terps, (19-18, 5-5), who had scored at least two runs in every game since March 26, tied the game in the second when left fielder Marty Costes slid home off center fielder Anthony Papio’s two-out single.
The Boilermakers took control from there, though.
Third baseman Brett Carlson singled with the bases loaded in the third and Costes overthrew third baseman Andrew Bechtold, so the Boilermakers drove in two runs in the third. On the next batter, left fielder Nick Dalesandro singled to drive in Carlson.
And Purdue added insurance runs during the next two innings. In the fourth, catcher James Jewell hit an RBI double, forcing Shaffer out of the game for left-hander Tayler Stiles. Second baseman Cody Strong notched an RBI single in the following frame.
In the eighth, Jewell hit the Boilermakers’ second home run of the contest off left-hander Zach Guth.
But it was Shaffer, who entered Friday with a 2.51 ERA, who put Maryland in an early hole, and the offense couldn’t work out of it to match Purdue’s production.
