Maryland baseball left-hander Andrew Miller clenched his fist as he walked off the mound in the ninth inning of Friday’s 2-1 win over Penn State at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium.
Moments earlier, he’d struck out Nittany Lions catcher Ryan Sloniger, and catcher Nick Cieri threw out right fielder Braxton Giavedoni, attempting to steal, to end the inning. Miller’s quick outing kept the Terps’ deficit at one, setting up back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the ninth to earn their first walk-off win this season.
Though coach John Szefc hasn’t assigned formal bullpen roles, the Terps have used some combination of Miller and right-handers Ryan Hill and Ryan Selmer toward the end of close contests. Miller leads Maryland’s pitching staff with a 1.20 ERA, and neither Hill nor Selmer have an ERA higher than three.
Miller was the lone pitcher in the trio to appear in the three-game series against the Nittany Lions, and he tossed just four pitches in Friday’s comeback victory. That gives Szefc a fresh bullpen ahead of the club’s Wednesday contest against William & Mary.
“It’s good to give those guys elongated rest if you can,” Szefc said. “The fact the threesome of Miller, Hill and Selmer threw four pitches all weekend, that’s an even bigger stat.”
Maryland’s bullpen rested due to extended outings from its three weekend starters.
On Friday, right-hander Brian Shaffer pitched 8 ⅓ innings and allowed just one run. The outing, which included a career-high 11 strikeouts, earned him Big Ten Pitcher of The Week honors.
Freshman left-hander Tyler Blohm, who Szefc moved into the Saturday slot because right-hander Taylor Bloom started last Tuesday’s win over West Virginia, was similarly effective. Over seven innings, he allowed two earned runs and struck out eight while issuing one walk. Right-hander Jamal Wade pitched two scoreless innings to secure the 8-3 win.
“When you can keep your bullpen as rested as we kept ours this weekend, that does a lot for them down the stretch,” third baseman AJ Lee said. “Going deep into conference play and even into the postseason with our guys not having so much tax on their arms, I think that’s big because they’ll be fresh for us and be able to go at any time.”
While Maryland’s bullpen was called upon early in Bloom’s last few outings — he allowed six runs over 7 ⅔ innings over three starts entering Sunday — he turned in a seven-inning performance against the Nittany Lions, limiting the number of relievers necessary to complete the sweep. He allowed two runs and nine hits in his most productive start since a 6 ⅔ inning performance against Princeton on March 18.
“That was another example of guys working through tough outings,” right fielder Marty Costes said. “Getting moved to Sunday, it could have affected anyone’s ego. I like how he got out there and did his thing.”
As the Terps prepare for their midweek contest against the Tribe, Szefc has a number of options when deciding which relievers to use. That could prove crucial against William & Mary, because no Maryland midweek starter has lasted more than 2 ⅔ innings this season.
“When our midweek game against Saint Joseph’s was [cancelled], that’s the only elongated rest [the bullpen has] had,” Szefc said Sunday. “Jamal did a great job and the two guys today threw well. Miller came in and got a big out for us Friday night. It let those guys [have some rest]. We have a big stretch coming up.”
