Friday, the Maryland baseball team lost to Nebraska, 3-1, despite right-hander Brian Shaffer’s complete game.
Saturday, the Terps evened the series with an 8-5 victory, even while starter Taylor Bloom recorded just four outs, a career-low 1.1-inning performance.
But right-hander Ryan Hill delivered the longest of his tenure — a crucial 4.2 innings — and earned his third win of the season.
With two outs in the top of the seventh, Maryland right fielder Marty Costes reached on an error and came around to score on singles from first baseman Brandon Gum and left fielder Will Watson, giving Maryland a 5-4 lead.
Three insurance runs in the top of the ninth, including an RBI double from third baseman AJ Lee, who also homered Saturday, gave the No. 24 Terps some breathing room.
Pitching with a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second, Bloom couldn’t find the strike zone. He threw 30 pitches and got just one out in the inning before assistant coach Ryan Fecteau went to the bullpen.
In the frame, Bloom (3-2, 5.06 ERA) issued three walks — one that forced in a run — in addition to hitting a foe with a pitch and allowing a game-tying single, leaving the game with the bases full and the score 2-2.
Hill gave the Huskers (18-11-1, 3-1-1 Big Ten) a 3-2 lead by hitting the first batter he faced, but he struck out the next two to end an inning that lasted more than 25 minutes.
In the fourth, Nebraska righthander Derek Burkamper’s (2-2, 4.13) lost his command, hitting Watson to start the inning, moving him to third with a pickoff throw that went up the right field line and walking designated hitter Nick Cieri to put runners on the corners with nobody out.
That ended Burkamper’s day after three innings, and Nebraska right-hander Matt Waldron loaded the bases by walking the first batter he faced.
Maryland (20-9, 6-2) nearly wasted the opportunity, however, when the Cornhuskers tagged Watson out between third and home after a failed suicide squeeze. Shortstop Patrick Hisle then struck out on the following pitch.
Pinch hitter Dan Maynard, though, made up for the mistakes with a two-run single into left field that gave Maryland a 4-3 lead.
Hill eventually gave up that advantage, but his 4.2 innings of one-run ball helped Maryland bridge the gap to the back-half of the Terps’ bullpen. The Grayson College transfer gave up four hits and two walks while striking out five batters.
Hill left with the game tied at four, but Watson’s RBI in the seventh put Hill in line for the win.
Left-hander Andrew Miller took over for Hill and kept the Huskers off the board for 1.1 innings before giving way to right-hander Ryan Selmer.
The Terps offense gave Selmer some room for error in the ninth, scoring three runs on three hits, including ones from Lee and Gum, who each had three-hit games.
Selmer surrendered a run in the bottom half of the frame and Nebraska sent the tying run to the plate with one out, but Lee turned a double-play to give Selmer his fourth save of the season and set up a rubber match Sunday.
