Entering with a .095 batting average, Maryland baseball catcher Justin Morris stepped into the batter’s box in the third inning against Radford on Friday with his hands bare. Having ditched the batting gloves he wore much of this season, he singled into right field.
First baseman Kevin Biondic, facing similar offensive scuffles, opted to leave his batting gloves in the dugout for his fourth-inning plate appearance after striking out earlier in the contest. Biondic then singled through the right side.
The subtle changes brought about large dividends for a team desperate for a spark at the plate. Morris and Biondic combined for five of Maryland’s nine hits, highlighted by Biondic’s go-ahead RBI double in the eighth inning, to help lead the Terps to a 11-4 win over Radford.
Late three-run home runs from second baseman Nick Dunn and right fielder Randy Bednar capped the overdue offensive onslaught after the Terps’ two-hit win against VCU on Wednesday.
Besides an unearned run in the second inning, right-hander Taylor Bloom cruised through the Radford (3-6) lineup to hold onto a 2-1 lead until the seventh. Without run support, though, that advantage remained tenuous.
The Terps (5-4) stranded eight runners on base. With bases loaded in the third, third baseman Taylor Wright popped out to left to end the frame. With runners on the corners in the fourth, right fielder Randy Bednar struck out and Costes popped out to nullify the threat. And Wright struck out in the seventh with two runners on.
That continued a trend of muted offense behind Bloom. Last week against Army, the senior allowed four runs, but the Terps mustered just four hits in the loss. In four of Maryland’s last five games, its lineup has notched four or fewer base knocks.
After Bloom surrendered the tying run in the seventh, it appeared only a matter of time until the lineup’s subpar play would cost it another game.
But Maryland broke out of its slump to add six runs in the eighth inning, including Biondic’s RBI double and Dunn’s three-run home run. Bednar added another three-run longball in the ninth, securing the victory to begin the weekend.
