In the top of the fifth inning, the Maryland Terrapins had a chance to even the score at one. Zach Jancarski and Taylor Wright had just singled back-to-back, and for the first time all afternoon, the Terps had a runner in scoring position.

An unassisted double play off the bat of Justin Morris ended the inning and the Nebraska Cornhuskers answered. In the bottom of the frame, Nebraska rallied for three runs against Taylor Bloom, guiding it to a 5-2 victory and a critical conference series win.

Bloom’s fifth inning woes came after the senior right-hander had one of his better appearances of the season. In his first start since an injury he suffered during batting practice a few weeks ago, Bloom retired the first 10 Huskers he faced. A solo home run by Scott Schreiber in the fourth broke the scoreless tie, but Bloom didn’t really falter until the fifth.

In the sixth inning, Bloom allowed a pair to reach scoring position, but got out of the jam without allowing anymore Cornhusker runs. In all, he threw 103 pitches in seven innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits.

After the Terrapin offense scored 15 runs in Friday’s win and eight runs in the first two innings of Saturday’s contest, it took a step backward to end the series. Maryland failed to score in 15 of the final 16 innings of the series. Both of Maryland’s runs came in the ninth inning of Sunday’s game — one on an RBI single by Morris, the other on a wild pitch.

Maryland’s best chance to break the slump came in the eighth, when a pair of singles by Randy Bednar and Nick Dunn and a peculiar defensive miscue loaded the bases for Kevin Biondic. Facing closer Jake Hohensee, the Terps first baseman lined into an inning-ending double play.

As a team, the Terps finished 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and just 4-for-19 with runners on base.

Seemingly every time Maryland placed a runner on base, he was erased on a double play. The Terps hit into four double plays on the afternoon, including Biondic’s costly one in the eighth.

With a 6-11 Big Ten record, Maryland’s odds of earning a spot in the conference tournament are rapidly decreasing. The Terps have two more Big Ten series remaining — home against Rutgers and away against Indiana — and trail all but two teams in the standings.