Logan Koester lowered his head as he ambled back to the Maryland dugout. His teammates huddled around the entrance as usual, but it was earlier than expected. The right-hander tapped their hands but kept his head tilted downward.
Koester’s outing against Michigan was his shortest of the season, and his worst yet. The Terps’ reliable weekend arm watched as the Wolverines walloped eight runs on six hits in the second inning, a frame he didn’t survive.
It was enough to lift the Wolverines over Maryland, 12-1, and tie the weekend series after the Terps’ victory on Friday. Koester’s eight earned runs were the most allowed by a Maryland pitcher this season, and makes Sunday’s game critical for claiming a series win for the seventh weekend in a row.
“That’s just baseball sometimes … There’s not many games you’re gonna be able to come back from that,” coach Matt Swope said.
The right hander has been one of Maryland’s most dependable pitchers, entering Saturday with a 2.72 ERA. He’d gone seven innings three times this season, including a 115-pitch effort against Michigan State last weekend. He sported a 4-1 record through six starts.
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His seventh start wasn’t as successful. After retiring all three batters in the first, the Wolverines unloaded in the next frame.
Collin Priest began the run and lifted a leadoff home run into left center. Cole Coruso added another score with a double into right field. AJ Garcia brought home two more runners with another double into right.
Two more crossed home following a single by Mitch Voit before Stephen Hrustich launched a two-run homer. Koester was pulled following the second home run, completing just 1⅓ innings.
The redshirt junior joined the Terps the past offseason following four years at George Washington. Koester entered the season with an inclination he’d hold a weekend starting spot due to his previous experience. The right-hander started 14 games with a 4.62 ERA and 6-3 record for the Revolutionaries last season and started six games in 2022.
“With a great fall and great coaching, I was happy to take the [starting] job,” Koester said in March.
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The Terps used four more arms following Koester’s outing, a chance for younger arms who have been used sparingly this season to show they deserve more time on the mound.
Michigan added two more runs off of Andrew Johnson in the fourth inning and two in the sixth against Evan Smith. It was both left-handers’ fourth appearances of the season.
Maryland’s offense couldn’t achieve any heroics to lift itself out of the hole created in the second inning, scoring its fewest runs this season.
The Terps recorded just four hits, tied for the lowest this season. They were retired in order four times. Devin Russell notched Maryland’s only run of the game in the fifth inning, launching his fourth home run of the season and second in the Terps’ last three games.
“All you can do with your resume is build winning weeks, and we still have a chance to finalize that tomorrow with a winning week and win a series,” Swope said. “We’ll come out and do whatever we can tomorrow to try to try to win a series.”
