Coach John Szefc had seen enough.
He watched the Maryland baseball team drop its last four series to end the regular season. He watched the preseason Big Ten favorite lose to Iowa in the first game of the Big Ten tournament on Thursday afternoon.
And with the Terps’ season on the line in an elimination game against No. 8 seed Purdue on Thursday night, he watched right fielder Marty Costes get hit by an eighth-inning pitch only to be asked to remain at the plate.
After home plate umpire Michael Droll ruled Costes hadn’t attempted to evade the pitch, preventing him from taking first base, Szefc emerged from the Maryland dugout screaming obscenities. The coach’s frustrated response led to his second-ever Big Ten tournament ejection.
Following the outburst, No. 4 seed Maryland rallied for three runs to earn a 5-2 win and stay alive in the conference tournament. The Terps will face the winner of No. 1 seed Nebraska and No. 5 seed Iowa on Friday night.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth, shortstop Kevin Smith delivered the go-ahead three-run double down the left field line. Costes clapped as he crossed the plate, while third baseman AJ Lee pumped his fist into the air and screamed, celebrating a much-needed breakthrough.
Earlier, right-hander Taylor Bloom helped set up Maryland’s win, giving up zero earned runs and allowing just four hits in five innings. But after left fielder Madison Nickens and catcher Justin Morris recorded RBI hits in the second to the Terps a two-run lead, defensive miscues enabled Purdue to tie the game.
In the fifth, Boilermakers designated hitter Mike Madej reached on second baseman Nick Dunn’s error and later scored on an error by third baseman AJ Lee. Lee’s mistake, which came fielding a bunt, enabled right fielder Alec Olund to reach third with no outs. He then scored on third baseman Hayden Grant’s sacrifice fly.
After Bloom departed, the Boilermakers appeared poised to rally. But right-hander John Murphy, who carried the team’s best ERA into Thursday’s matchups, ended numerous Purdue threats.
In the sixth, he worked around a bases loaded, one-out jam. In the seventh, he didn’t allow a run despite the Boilermakers putting two runners in scoring position. He retired the side in order in the eighth, keeping the game tied before Smith’s three-run double.
Right-hander Ryan Selmer pitched a scoreless ninth, securing the win for the struggling Terps. The result prolonged the season and enabled Maryland to improve its record in advance of Monday’s NCAA tournament selection show.
