Freshman Kody Milton, one of the Terps’ freshman infielders, stepped onto the mound in the eighth inning on Wednesday.  This time, Milton wasn’t there to support his pitcher––he was the pitcher. Maryland’s 12-4 lead allowed the Terps to turn to Milton with the hope of saving some bullpen arms. He did just that and shut down the Phoenix with two strikeouts and a fly out.

Maryland’s offense dominated on Wednesday, defeating Elon 12-4 in North Carolina to sweep the two-game series.

The offense made an immediate impact in the first inning, loading the bases for A.J. Lee with two outs. Lee walked in a run, and consecutive two-run singles from juniors Sebastian Holte-Mancera and Caleb Walls gave Maryland an immediate 5-0 lead. With that, the Terps chased Phoenix starting pitcher Daniel Albrittain from the game after just two-thirds of an inning. Right-hander Adam Spurlin entered in relief.

Following the first, Taylor Wright led off the second inning with a single. After a ground out from freshman Maxwell Costes moved him to second, Wright reached third on a passed ball and eventually scored on another ground out from catcher Justin Vought, giving the Terps a 6-0 lead.

The offense continued to roll in the third inning as sophomore Randy Bednar drove in two more runs with a double. Then, after Bednar stole third, Wright singled him home and the Terps extended their lead to 9-0.

Meanwhile, Maryland starter Tuck Tucker put up a dominant start, keeping pace with the Terps’ offense. Through four innings, Tucker allowed no runs, no hits, and walked just one, giving his offense the opportunity to break the game open.

Elon eventually got on the board with a solo home run from first baseman Joe Satterfield to start the fifth, breaking up Tucker’s no-hit bid. However, Tucker settled back down, retiring the next three batters to get out of the inning. Freshman Sean Heine relieved Tucker to start the sixth.

Maryland’s offensive outburst continued in the sixth inning, as Tommy Gardiner put up a two-run single. Holte-Mancera, who moved to third on Gardiner’s single, then scored on a passed ball to make it 12-1. The Terps challenged the Phoenix pitching staff all day, as even in innings when they did not score they put together solid at-bats and placed runners on base.

Elon scored once in the sixth inning off of Heine and twice in the bottom of the seventh inning against reliever Sean Fisher, making it 12-4, but the Phoenix rally was too little too late as the Terps cruised to victory in the late innings.

Maryland improved its record to 12-8, while Elon drops to 11-10. The Terps look to continue this offensive surge and win streak in their upcoming series against Creighton (8-5).