Maryland baseball left fielder Madison Nickens stood at the plate with Garth Brooks’ “Callin’ Baton Rouge” blaring over the speakers at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium for the second time in the eighth inning Wednesday.
In Nickens’ first plate appearance of the frame against Saint Joseph’s, the Terps dugout was quiet. The game was tied.
But by Nickens’ second trip to the dish, the Maryland dugout screamed “Louisiana” along with Brooks. A few minutes earlier, the Gonzales, Louisiana, native had sent an offspeed pitch over the center-field wall to give the Terps a one-run lead.
A Hawks error and Maryland’s savvy baserunning helped the Terps to score five more times after Nickens’ leadoff home run. But it was Nickens’ solo shot — Maryland’s fourth home run of the afternoon — that ignited the scoring eruption as the Terps defeated Saint Joseph’s, 11-5.
“The first approach is to get on base,” Nickens said. “I tried three different times to lay down a bunt [for a hit]. I’m not going to swing for the long ball. Sometimes it will happen. I tried to lay one down, didn’t get it and he hung me a changeup.”
Maryland’s power resulted in its fifth straight victory and second in as many days. The Terps recorded four home runs in a game for the first time since February 2016.
The late rally came after the Terps lost the lead in the seventh. Maryland carried a 5-4 edge into the inning, and the Hawks had a runner on third with one out when right-hander Jared Price induced a ground ball. First baseman Brandon Gum, who has been plagued by a shoulder injury, stepped on first base, allowing the Hawks to tie the game.
Coach John Szefc declined to comment on whether Gum’s injury prevented him from throwing to catcher Justin Morris, who seemed to be expecting a play at the plate.
Nickens’ home run came after right-hander Mike Rescigno averted a Hawks rally in the top of the eighth. They had runners on second and third with one out before Rescigno struck out center fielder Peter Sitaras with a breaking ball and induced a ground out off the bat of second baseman Taylor Boyd.
Rescigno left the mound, lifted his fist into the air and chest-bumped Morris. On what could have been a frustrating afternoon, Rescigno and Nickens led the late rally.
“I was just trying to get ahead,” Rescigno said. “I knew they were going to try and bunt [with runners on first and second and nobody out]. Trying to just not let them score any runs … [Nickens’ home run] was huge. It probably won us the game.”
Though Nickens’ round-tripper gave the Terps a late lead, the club’s power helped it overcome an early deficit. In the second inning, starting right-hander Cameron Enck allowed four runs and didn’t record an out before departing. But Morris went yard in the bottom of the frame to cut the Hawks’ edge to two. Right fielder Marty Costes hit a two-run home run in the third to tie the game at four. Then, third baseman AJ Lee added a solo shot in the sixth to give the Terps a one-run advantage.
For the second consecutive afternoon, the Terps tied the contest and took the lead. Nickens said Costes’ home run emerged as a turning point in the dugout. After that, the Terps were confident they would be able to close the gap.
Left-hander Tayler Stiles tossed 3.1 innings of scoreless relief, and left-hander Andrew Miller and Rescigno kept it a tie game until Maryland’s eighth-inning outburst. By the end, the entire Terps dugout was yelling “Louisiana.”
“We did hit some home runs,” Szefc said. “We have some guys that can do it.”