In Maryland baseball’s series finale last year against Stetson, right-hander Hunter Parsons pitched a gem. His complete-game, two-hit shutout powered the Terps to a rubber match win.
This year, Parsons is Maryland baseball’s ace rather than its Sunday starter, but his results against the Hatters remained the same. In Friday’s series opener against Stetson, Parsons threw seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts.
The senior’s display kept Maryland in the game long enough for its offense to erupt — beginning with first baseman Maxwell Costes’ homer in the sixth and ending with second baseman Tommy Gardiner’s RBI single in the ninth — to secure Friday’s 7-0 win.
Until Costes’ dinger, Stetson right-hander Robbie Peto held the Terps off, retiring the side in order three times and allowing three hits with nine strikeouts through six innings.
Third baseman Taylor Wright sent a double to right-center field with two outs in the first and Costes followed with a walk. The pair advanced on a passed ball, but catcher Justin Vought flew out to end the early threat.
Vought went 0-for-5 at the plate but made up for it by catching two Hatters stealing. The first, helped keep the game scoreless, erasing right fielder Andrew MacNeil just before what could have been a run-scoring double in the second inning.
Instead, Costes’ second career homer opened the scoring, and the Terps added two more runs in the seventh.
Reliever Danny Garcia took over for Stetson after Peto’s strong outing, but after striking out shortstop Benjamin Cowles, he ran into trouble. A pair of walks sandwiched around an error loaded the bases, and right fielder Randy Bednar cashed in a pair of runs with a double down the left field line.
Two strikeouts ended the inning, but the Terps bats weren’t done. Bednar and third baseman Taylor Wright hit back-to-back solo shots in the ninth inning, and singles from Costes, Cowles, Gardiner and center fielder Chris Alleyne brought home two more runs, giving the Terps plenty of breathing room entering the bottom half of the ninth.
Parsons had exited by that point, giving way after working around two singles in the seventh and finishing with 105 pitches. The senior scattered six hits and walked just one while striking out 10, and after a dicey eighth inning that included three pitchers and two walks, closer John Murphy pitched a clean ninth to secure Parson’s well-earned win, his third of the year.
