Maryland baseball left fielder Madison Nickens, a Louisiana native, established a routine before each of his at-bats at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium. Nickens approaches the plate as Garth Brooks’ “Callin’ Baton Rouge” blasts through the speakers, and he plants his left foot in the left-handed hitter’s batter’s box. Then, when the final lyric of the first verse plays, Nickens places both feet in the box.
Despite his Louisiana ties, Nickens wanted to try a rap song but never had the courage to make the change. In the midst of a skid that dropped his batting average to .223 entering Tuesday’s contest against UMBC, Nickens heard Travis Scott’s “Through the Late Night” during Maryland’s weekend series against Illinois.
It became his walk-up selection against the Retrievers, and in Maryland’s 6-2 win, Nickens went 2-for-3, including a leadoff single that sparked a four-run rally in the sixth inning.
“It was a tough decision,” Nickens said. “I’m not extremely superstitious, but it was a change. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same result is insane. [I] changed something up, and I guess it worked.”
UMBC right-hander Jacob Christian froze Nickens on a 2-2 pitch in the third, sending him back to the dugout after he failed to add to Maryland’s 1-0 lead. However, after right-hander Ryan Hill allowed a two-run home run to catcher Hunter Dolshun in the top of the sixth, Nickens helped fuel a comeback.
He fell behind in his second at-bat before fouling off a bunt attempt down the third base line. Trailing in the count 0-2, though, Nickens maintained his approach. He sent a hanging fastball into left field to open the frame with a single.
Then, center fielder Zach Jancarski, first baseman Brandon Gum and third baseman AJ Lee contributed RBIs to give the Terps a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“He has a lot of different things he can do [offensively], but sometimes when he presses, he gets a lit sure-fire tle tough on himself,” coach John Szefc said. “You just have to stay positive with him.”
While the Terps were forced to generate runs late — a theme in most of the team’s midweek games this season — the starter didn’t put them in an early hole as has happened in the past. Left-hander Tayler Stiles, making his second start this season after a 2.2-inning outing against UNC Wilmington on March 22, kept the Retrievers off-balance through his five innings.
Second baseman Nick Dunn’s first-inning RBI single gave Stiles an advantage to work with, and he capitalized. The senior allowed four hits and struck out six.
“It’s easier to pitch when you have the lead,” Stiles said. “It’s easier and more comforting. It just helps.”
Before right-hander John Murphy pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth inning to secure Maryland’s third win in its last five contests, Nickens doubled to deep right field against right-hander Patrick Phillips in the seventh. The 3-2 fastball nearly cleared the wall.
Nickens used breathing exercises to relax and turned to Maryland’s familiar dugout antics — early Tuesday, the team collectively shouted “I’m a goofy goober” in homage to “Spongebob” — for comic relief. To maintain a less-serious approach, he opted to change his walk-up song and was rewarded.
“I keep telling myself, ‘Don’t get tight,'” Nickens said. “Not doing anything major, just trying to relax and have fun. It’s just a game. Sometimes people let that get away from them.”
