After Alabama State scored three runs in the top of the second inning Sunday, it seemed Maryland baseball left-hander Tyler Blohm would have a brief start.
The No. 22 Terps yielded a five-run sixth inning in Friday’s loss to Ball State and a five-run fourth inning in Saturday’s loss to No. 12 Louisville, the latter causing right-hander Taylor Bloom to leave after three innings. Sunday, Blohm was on the verge of surrendering a big inning to Alabama State. So after the Hornets took a three-run lead, Maryland catcher Dan Maynard approached Blohm in the dugout.
“I told him, ‘Hey, listen, be aggressive and don’t try to trick anybody. Make them earn all their runs,'” Maynard said. “When he starts to attack guys, he is as good of an arm as we have.”
Blohm responded by keeping the Hornets off the board in the third and fourth innings before the Terps scored six runs in the fourth to take an 8-3 advantage.
Blohm watched from the bench as the Terps sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning. He ended up allowing three runs in five innings. It was arguably one of the best outings for a Maryland pitcher during a weekend when throwing strikes seemed to be a challenge.
“I’ve been around a few [freshman starting pitchers],” first baseman Brandon Gum said. “I’ve never been around one that’s that good, who acts like he’s a third-year starter. We told him to go out there and throw some zeroes [after we scored]. That’s kind of where we solidified the game.”
Blohm’s start alone wasn’t enough to lead the Terps to their first win of the season, though. Maryland needed three relievers to record the final three outs in the ninth, when Alabama State rallied for four runs before left-hander Andrew Miller threw the final two outs.
The ninth inning troubles emerged as the latest challenge for Maryland, who blew a 3-1 lead against Ball State on Friday as a result of shaky outings from right-handers Ryan Hill and Cameron Enck and left-hander Tayler Stiles, who all allowed at least two runs in the Terps’ season-opener.
Against Louisville, their first ranked opponent of the season, the Terps’ five early errors fueled the Cardinals offense, though the Terps scored all seven of their runs after trailing by five.
“We obviously didn’t play our best defense,” coach John Szefc said. “It wasn’t the worst weekend in the world, but it wasn’t the best either. The fact is we’re getting guys on. That’s what we’re trying to do. We left some guys on but we scored 16 runs in the last two days. I’d take that.”
After the Terps scored their first run of the game Sunday in the second inning, Blohm retired the Hornets in the third, recording three consecutive outs following a single to open the frame. In a weekend during which Maryland struggled at times, the scoreless inning from the Terps freshman starter helped the team secure its lone win.
“It was huge,” Maynard said. “It kept us in the game. It doesn’t seem like that now, but it for sure did.”
