The Terps won in seven innings for the second consecutive game.
Maryland baseball had struggled to put midweek opponents away early in the season, but it has had no issue recently.
With junior catcher Luke Shliger on base, junior shortstop Matt Shaw walked to the plate in a historic position, just one home run shy of breaking the Maryland career home run record. Shaw delivered, slamming a home run to center field — the 44th of his career.
The blast was the second of what ended up as seven home runs slammed by the Terps Wednesday in a 16-3 rout of Georgetown. The game was mutually called after seven innings— the same decision made during Maryland’s demolition of UMBC Tuesday.
Maryland’s pitching held strong in the early innings, as sophomore Ryan Van Buren got the nod for the Terps. He pitched a perfect two 2⁄3 innings to start the game, playing with a 6-0 lead behind early jacks from Shaw, junior second baseman Kevin Keister and fifth-year outfielder Matt Woods. Sophomore outfielder Elijah Lambros hit the fourth home run of the inning but was ejected for what appeared to be an excessive celebration.
Georgetown junior first baseman Christian Ficca hit the Hoyas’ first home run of the game, cutting the lead to 6-2. But Van Buren was able to end the fourth inning without a run, and junior left-handed pitcher Tommy Kane and sophomore right-handed pitcher Andrew Johnson combined for three innings of one-run ball in relief.
After scoreless fourth and fifth innings, the Terps unleashed another monster frame. It started with a solo shot from sophomore utility man Jacob Orr, which was followed by a two-run home run by Shliger. Almost the entire lineup reached base in the frame. A slew of walks and hits loaded the bases, and the Terps managed two more runs.
Just like in their previous game, despite a big cushion, the Terps wouldn’t let down, as Keister hit his second home run of the game — this time a grand slam to extend the lead to 12.
After Keister blew the game wide open, the rest of the game was nothing more than a formality. Maryland tacked on another run, making the score 16-3. And after a quick inning by Johnson, the game was called in the seventh inning.
The Terps, now 27-15 on the year, have won eight of their last 10 games, including four straight midweek games. They will face Indiana in a three-game series next, a matchup of the two top teams in the Big Ten.
Three things to know
1. Maryland’s pitching held strong. It seems Maryland’s offense is always chasing the faults of its pitching staff, but Wednesday was another story. The Terps surrendered just three runs in seven innings of work, and great performances by Van Buren and Johnson helped preserve Maryland’s bullpen for its upcoming weekend series.
2. Keister is on fire. Keister has been lackluster this season, ranking dead last on the team in OPS. But in the past two games, he’s hit four home runs and racked up 10 RBIs. If he can continue to heat up, it would make a massive difference for Maryland going forward.
3. Four monster midweek wins. Maryland has been terrific in its past four midweek games. The Terps have scored over 15 runs in each of their past four games, for a grand total of 73. After a record-breaking performance against UMBC, there was still enough gas in their tank to get revenge on the Hoyas, and they can hope that the fire in this offense can carry over to the weekend.