Maryland baseball turned to the bullpen four times in its series finale Sunday against Ohio State.
As a whole, the Terps’ pitching staff walked 11 of the 42 batters they faced, only banking 10 strikeouts and allowing five hits.
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Maryland’s continued pitching struggles came with the offense leaving 12 runners left on base, costing it a 7-0 defeat and the series sweep.
Jackson Sirois became Maryland’s first baserunner in the bottom of the second, reaching on an error at first with two outs. Sirois stole second base three pitches later, but was left on base after Paul Jones II struck out swinging.
Austin Weiss’ first career start on the mound left a lot to be desired. In just 1 1/3 innings, the freshman committed a pitch clock violation and walked five batters, one of which brought home Ohio State’s first run of the day.
Weiss also gave up the two-run single Kaczmar grounded to left field, putting the Buckeyes up by three, as well as a two-run Dane Harvey single to bring Ohio State to five runs on the afternoon.
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The Terps filled the bases in the top of the third after a single from Brayden Martin and walks from Ryan Costello and Jordan Crosland, but a three-pitch strikeout from Ohio State pitcher Pierce Herrenbruck to Ty Kaunas left everyone on base.
In the bottom of the fourth, Sirois committed another error for the Terps at third as strong winds blew Kaczmar’s left-bound hit from his glove. However, the sophomore grabbed the ball and chucked it towards second base for a 5-4 out to redeem himself.
Ohio State’s Dane Harvey knocked the ball down the middle towards Mendez at second base in the same inning. Mendez quickly threw to Koshy, who umpires agreed successfully sprinted to first base to tag out Harvey ending the fifth inning — the third straight without a run scored.
Maryland continued to struggle to finish offensively. With the bases loaded for the second time at the top of the sixth inning, Brayden Martin took to the batters box, but he eventually flew out after hitting three straight foul balls.
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Jake Yeager relieved Koshy in the bottom of the fifth, marking his first mound appearance since March 22 against UCLA. Yeager matched his season high with four strikeouts, two of which came in six straight pitches during the bottom of the sixth.
Landon Edwards took over for Yeager in the bottom of the sixth inning, but was replaced by James Gladden two batters later after hitting one and walking the other.
Gladden allowed a single from Buckeye Maddix Simpson to load the bases. After a lengthy review, umpires agreed that a double play attempt came up short and allowed Ohio State’s Lee Ellis to advance to third and come home on a throwing error by Sirois.
Without offensive production to make up for it, Maryland only sunk deeper into its deficit. Gladden only posted one strikeout in the bottom of the eighth inning, which was overshadowed by a balk to advance Ohio State’s Noah Furcht to second base, and a passed ball allowing him to come home one batter later.
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Three straight outs without a base hit in the top of the ninth sealed the deal on Ohio State’s victory, costing the Terps their fourth conference series.
Three things to know
1. Logging historical losses. The series against Ohio State marks the first time ever that the Terps were swept by the Buckeyes in three straight games in their 11 year playing history.
2. Catching up to Martin. Ohio State’s Lee Ellis tied Brayden Martin for third-most bases stolen in the Big Ten with 12, two of which he logged back-to-back in the bottom of the second inning.
3. Bottom dwelling. Maryland has officially plummeted to the bottom of the Big Ten standings, ending the weekend with a 2-10 conference record.