By Ben Harris

Boxscore

The Terps dropped their Big Ten season opener Friday, losing 8-1 to the Iowa Hawkeyes (8-11). Maryland (10-11) hasn’t been comfortable away from College Park in 2016, dropping seven of their 10 road games.

Iowa starter C.J. Eldred (2-2) struck out nine en route to a complete game victory, allowing no runs and four hits after the first inning.

Maryland began the game aggressively on both sides of the ball but struggled mightily to produce as each inning wore on. After striking out the last two batters in the first inning, Mike Shawaryn (2-2) rang up the first batter in each of the next four innings. Offensively, the first five Terrapin leadoff hitters reached base Friday, culminating a 13-16 streak dating back to Sunday.

However, Maryland grounded into three inning-ending double plays and struck out twice to end the frame in the first five innings. By game’s end, Maryland was 1-18 with runners on base. Echoing the offense’s inability to convert in favorable situations, all of Shawaryn’s five runs allowed came after the righty recorded the inning’s first two outs.

Despite Friday marking the seventh game this season that the Terps scored one run or fewer, it’s only the third such occurrence in their last 16 games.

Iowa nearly hit for the cycle in their four-run second inning scoring on a double, hit-by pitch, triple and a home run.

Sophomore Andrew Green, who picked up his first collegiate win on Tuesday, entered the game to relieve Shawaryn after five innings. The Unicorn allowed eight hits and five earned runs while striking out eight.

Nick Cieri, Maryland’s lone multi-hit player on the afternoon, led the offense with three singles, good for half of the team’s six-hit effort. The junior raised his batting average to .329.

Despite shutting down offensive powerhouse Nick Roscetti (0-5) and ending his 15-game hitting streak, five Hawkeyes posted multi-hit days. Joel Booker extended his own 14-game hitting streak to leadoff the game, and capped Iowa’s crooked second inning with a two-run homer to left.

Maryland looks to even the series tomorrow at 3:05 EST behind Taylor Bloom who enters his sixth start coming off back-to-back complete games.

Notes: Iowa had turned just nine double plays entering Friday, and turned three in the game’s first five innings. In the third inning, Shawaryn passed Eric Milton for the fourth-highest strikeout total in Terrapin baseball history. Milton is Maryland’s highest drafted player ever (20th overall in 1996).