Maryland baseball’s dominant streak of 23 straight Big Ten series wins ended last Easter against Michigan. Since then, the Terps have stumbled in conference play, winning just two of their last 12 Big Ten series dating back to last season.

Those struggles continued in this year’s Easter rubber match in Bloomington, where Indiana defeated Maryland, 15-5, in eight innings on Sunday. Thirteen of the Hoosiers’ 15 runs came off Terps relievers.

“For the most part, I was happy. The energy was great,” coach Matt Swope said. “Just kind of got away from us there later in the bullpen.”

Maryland has yet to win a weekend series against a singular opponent in 2025 — dropping all eight, including six against Big Ten opponents.

Senior Elijah Lambros noted that Maryland (18-23, 5-13 Big Ten) was entering a familiar spot after Saturday’s 17-4 win. It marked the sixth time the Terps would face a Sunday rubber match — and the third following a mercy-rule victory.

“We know our past results, but we’re focused on bringing what we brought today into tomorrow,” Lambros said.

Instead, Maryland dropped yet another series-decider. The Terps haven’t been particularly close in those losses, either, getting outscored 67–30 with only two decided by fewer than two runs.

Many of Maryland’s wins have come in blowouts, only to be followed by a series-ending loss. The Terps routed Western Carolina 35-12 before dropping the finale. They recorded run-rule wins over UCLA, Oregon, and Indiana (22-18, 12-9) — and ultimately lost all of those series.

Just a year ago, Maryland was 5-2 in rubber matches.

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“If we win that game Friday, it’s a great week,” Swope said. “But that’s been kind of the broken record and the recurring theme.”

The Terps’ failures in the Big Ten have them on the brink of missing the conference tournament for the second straight season under second-year coach Matt Swope. Following Purdue’s win over Penn State on Sunday, the Terps sit in sole possession of second to last place in the conference.

If the Terps miss the postseason again, it’d be the first time since 2013 Maryland won’t be in a conference tournament in back-to-back seasons.

Bullpen struggles

Despite the final 10-run margin, Maryland entered the sixth inning tied with Indiana at three. Logan Hastings returned for his third inning of relief but immediately allowed three straight hits — an RBI double followed by a two-run homer. With his pitch count up to 70, Swope pulled the freshman, leaving the Terps in a three-run hole.

“Logan did a great job for the majority of the game and got kind of tired there,” Swope said. “That’s probably on me for leaving him in one inning too long, so I’ll take responsibility for that.”

Swope brought in James Gladden, who had made just two outings since returning from Tommy John surgery and carried a 21.60 ERA. The redshirt sophomore surrendered back-to-back solo home runs that stretched the deficit to five, lasting only three batters.

Freshman Cristofer Cespedes didn’t fare much better. He was charged with two runs following Gladden’s appearance but managed to complete one full inning. Devin Milberg allowed four more runs in 2⁄3’s of an inning after Cespedes.

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Indiana left fielder Devin Taylor ended the game in the eighth with a three-run homer off Andrew Koshy — one of five home runs Indiana hit Sunday.

Maryland’s starting pitchers in Bloomington combined for a 4.50 ERA. The bullpen posted an 18.66 ERA across the series.

Improved offensive showing, but not enough

The Terps mustered just three runs in the rubber match against Oregon a week ago — a game that followed a similar script and felt all but over after the Ducks’ six-run fifth inning.
Maryland’s five runs on Sunday kept it engaged with the Hoosiers for a period, but they weren’t enough to keep up with the conference’s highest scoring offense.

Catcher Alex Calarco scored Maryland’s first run with a solo homer in the fourth, then tied the game at three with another blast two innings later. He hit three home runs during the weekend series, snapping a two-week drought.

Following Indiana’s five-run sixth inning, shortstop Chris Hacopian decreased the deficit to three with a two-run single, but it was the last time that Maryland scored.

The Terps were outhit, 17-8, by Indiana, the fourth time the Terps’ have been outhit by their opponent in a rubber match.

Maryland’s three remaining non-conference games hold no weight to their postseason chances. The Terps have four conference series remaining, including Minnesota, Rutgers and Nebraska, who are all tied for the final 12th place spot.

Maryland needs to make up ground on what is a two-game difference between missing and making the Big Ten tournament.

“If we can continue to stack days and turn them into a week, then we’ll be good,” Swope said. “We’re trying to stay positive and stack days.”