Maryland baseball coach Rob Vaughn put his hands on his hips when he got to the mound, shook his head and, after a short conversation with right-hander Hunter Parsons, reached his hand out to take the ball from the junior.
In the first inning, Parsons was shelled, allowing five runs on six hits. In the second, Parsons spiraled out of control, hitting two batters, moving them over with a wild pitch and walking a third to load the bases.
Right-hander Mark DiLuia, making his way from the bullpen for his first Maryland appearance, didn’t settle things down. The first batter he faced, Tennessee shortstop Andre Lipcius, hit a grand slam over the left-field fence, obliterating the 3-0 lead Maryland once held in the first frame.
Tennessee continued the offensive onslaught to win, 13-6, and salvage a win from its season-opening series against Maryland.
“We would’ve loved for [Parsons] to go out there and roll out zeros and come out of here with the sweep, that would’ve been great,” Vaughn said. “But at the end of the day, him kind of scuffling today gives … him a chance to bounce back and respond.”
Lipcius led the Volunteers with six RBIs, while seven Volunteers finished with multiple hits.
Maryland third baseman Taylor Wright had two hits, continuing a strong start to his Terps career.
After the Terps (2-1) powered their way back into the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader, using a six-run ninth inning to earn a 10-4 win, right fielder Marty Costes and second baseman Nick Dunn hit first-inning home runs in the nightcap.
It continued a power surge for Dunn, who hit three homers in the opening weekend after hitting five all of last season. Costes, hitting in the leadoff role after batting third most of last season, still had plenty of RBI opportunities in Maryland’s opening series.
“We battled hard all three games,” center fielder Zach Jancarski said. “Our offense was relentless, and that’s kind of what we’ve kind of been preaching since the fall, just grind out at-bats. … Any time you can come to an SEC school like this and start the season off with a series [win], we’re feeling good about ourselves.”
Tennessee right-hander Will Neely settled in following his shaky first inning Saturday night to toss five frames and allow six hits, preventing a pitching emergency for the Volunteers (1-2), who needed six relievers to finish the first game of the day.
But Tennessee quickly erased Maryland’s early 3-0 advantage. The Volunteers’ first five batters reached base against Parsons, who allowed eight runs in one inning of work. He was replaced by DiLuia, who allowed runs in each of his first three innings.
“It’s a learning experience, and it’s a good experience for a lot of freshman who proved they can play at this level and get a lot of opportunities on the mound,” Costes said.
The third game of the series illustrated the drop-off from Maryland starters Taylor Bloom and Tyler Blohm to the rest of the pitching staff. Bloom threw seven scoreless innings in Friday’s win while Blohm allowed two runs in 5.1 innings earlier Sunday.
Still, DiLuia ate innings for Maryland, preserving a bullpen light on options as it braces for its Wednesday matchup against William & Mary. The Terps will rely on eight underclassmen out of the bullpen this year to replace a litany of relievers who departed via transfer, graduation or the MLB draft.
Parsons’ rough outing doesn’t change Vaughn’s mind regarding the junior’s ability to contribute as a starter.
“I know Hunter’s hard on himself,” Vaughn said. “That guy works his tail off and he deserves to be on the mound. We’re going to run him out there next weekend and he’s one of our best arms. I wouldn’t call it disappointment at all. I think it’s a great opportunity to respond and show himself, if nothing else, what he’s really made of.”
