After Maryland baseball first baseman and relief pitcher Kevin Biondic hit the go-ahead home run half an inning earlier, he took the mound with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning.
Throughout the weekend series against Northwestern, Biondic’s family — visiting from out of state — cheered him on, sometimes shouting his name mid-game. But when he toed the rubber with the game on the line on Sunday, they appeared tense. Wildcats designated hitter Connor Lind smoked Biondic’s first pitch on a line to left field, but Will Watson charged and slid to make the series-clinching catch, securing a 4-3 win. Lind slammed his helmet into the dirt. Biondic was mobbed at the mound by his teammates.
His family in the stands broke out their cardboard cutouts of his face, resuming their energetic display.
“Anything to mortally humiliate the guy, that’s our goal,” said Biondic’s aunt, Finola.
“I don’t think they care if I struck out 10 times this weekend, or if I hit five home runs,” Biondic said. “They’re going to heckle me, no matter what. It was some good heckling today.”
Biondic’s one-out save finished a contest full of narrow escapes for the Terps (14-14, 2-1 Big Ten).
With two outs in the seventh inning, coach Rob Vaughn started walking to the mound, seemingly prepared to pull starter Hunter Parsons. But he stopped, turned around and watched on from the dugout as Parsons got Northwestern (8-14, 1-5) catcher Jack Claeys, who hit two homers on Saturday, to fly out with a runner on third.
Vaughn also could have pulled Parsons after his three-run third inning, or when he loaded the bases in the fourth. Instead, he stuck with a pitcher sporting a 0.84 ERA and 23 strikeouts in his past four starts before Sunday’s game. Parsons rebounded from early trouble to give the Terps seven innings for the fifth straight outing.
“To me, [Parsons] has earned the right to get himself out of a game,” Vaughn said. “The way he’s competed, the toughness he’s pitched through, like, that was his game.”
The Terps lineup pounced on starter Jack Pagliarini early. Second baseman Nick Dunn took Pagliarini’s first pitch deep for a home run, and shortstop AJ Lee supplied an RBI single to grab a first-inning edge.
Pagliarini settled in, though, at one point retiring 15 Maryland batters in a row. Biondic broke through with his third homer of the season, plating right fielder Marty Costes to establish a one-run lead.
“We know we can depend on him in tough situations,” catcher Justin Morris said. “He’s come in a lot into pressure situations, off the mound as well, and has really helped shut the door.”
Closer John Murphy allowed a single, hit a batter and walked another as his season-long control issues pervaded into the ninth inning Sunday. So Vaughn turned to Biondic, who had supplied two scoreless innings Saturday. Biondic forced Lind to line out to left to survive the bases-loaded jam.
During Biondic’s post-game press conference, members of his family walked by on the field waving his cardboard face around. Again, Biondic laughed, comfortable with his family’s antics after he led the Terps to a rubber-match victory.
“We’ve always been his biggest fans,” said his mother, Mary. “Kevin loves playing first base, being put as a pitcher. You know, he really thrives on that pressure.”
