Indiana center fielder Craig Dedelow sprinted around the bases after hitting a two-out grand slam in the seventh inning of the Hoosiers’ 6-3 win over Maryland baseball Sunday afternoon.
His teammates joined the celebration, sprinting out of the dugout toward the plate to greet the senior. They jumped and screamed, glaring into Maryland’s dugout as if to respond to the Terps’ vocal dugout messages throughout the three-game series.
Then, left-hander Tayler Stiles and infielder Kevin Biondic emerged from the dugout and walked in the the Hoosiers’ direction. Coach John Szefc and associate head coach Rob Vaughn prevented their players from escalating the situation.
It appeared that might be the final sequence for the Terps in Bloomington, Indiana, because a lightning delay jeopardized the chance to play the last two innings. However, Maryland had one final series of at-bats in the eighth but couldn’t capitalize.
“Our guys are really competitive guys [and] they expect to be successful,” Szefc said. “You want them to be able to fight back in adverse situations, and that’s as adverse as it’s going to get. That’ll help us out too as we keep playing, getting punched in the teeth like that.”
The late-game flare stemmed from right-hander Ryan Selmer’s frustration after allowing his second home run this season in the seventh.
Second baseman Tony Butler singled with two outs and designated hitter Matt Lloyd followed that with a double. The Terps intentionally walked third baseman Luke Miller to pitch to Dedelow, who capitalized by depositing a hanging pitch over the left field wall.
Indiana’s late offensive rally came after the Terps built a one-run lead entering the bottom of the seventh. Right-hander Taylor Bloom’s second-inning pitch that allowed Dedelow’s first home run of the game was one of two mistakes the junior made in the loss. It was his first start since he tossed a season-high 7.2 innings in Maryland’s win over Michigan State last Sunday.
Shortstop Jeremy Houston’s fifth-inning home run was the closest the Hoosiers would come before Dedelow’s grand slam.
Second baseman Nick Dunn’s RBI single gave the Terps a lead in the first, and shortstop Kevin Smith added to the lead with a two-run home run in the fourth. Bloom allowed just two runs and struck out seven, but the Terps couldn’t hold on when they went to their bullpen.
Maryland, which stranded 12 runners, couldn’t capitalize with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth.
Indiana’s late-game celebration was magnified because home plate umpire Jon Saphire quieted Maryland’s dugout in the fourth. Szefc said Saphire requested the Terps stop their “organized chants,” which have been evident since the first weekend of the season.
Nonetheless, Selmer, who pitched 2.2 innings Saturday with 23 pitches, struggled after recording two quick outs in the seventh. The Hoosiers took advantage, handing Maryland its first series loss since April 7-9, when the Terps dropped two of three games against Nebraska.
“It was just a play on bad timing,” left-hander Tyler Blohm said of the grand slam. “Of course it got us all emotional. Stuff like that happens.”
