After suffering their first defeat of the season against Michigan, No. 21 Maryland looked to get back in the win column Saturday against Indiana State in Greenville, North Carolina.

The Terps got off to a quick start on the basepaths. Luke Shliger, coming a double short of the cycle in yesterday’s affair, greeted Sycamore starting pitcher Jack Parisi with a single on the first pitch of the game. Chris Alleyne then recorded a single himself and Nick Lorusso walked on four pitches, but no runs crossed the plate.

Maryland starting pitcher Ryan Ramsey kicked off his third start of the season with a seven-pitch inning against a tough Indiana State top three in Jordan Schaffer, Grant Magill, and Josue Urdaneta.

The second inning would contrast, as Ramsey gave up a solo home run to designated hitter Luis Hernandez, giving Indiana State an early 1-0 lead. Center fielder Sean Ross then doubled to score left fielder Aaron Beck to tally another run.

Alleyne countered in the third inning with a solo home run, his first long ball of the season. In the bottom half, Schaffer stole second base after being hit by a pitch. Magill then singled to put runners on the corners and Urdaneta singled to make it a 3-1 ballgame.

In the same inning, Maryland turned a 6-4-3 double play, but a runner crossed the plate in the process for the fourth Sycamore run of the day. Ramsey then struck out Beck to end an arduous inning for the junior pitcher.

Troy Schreffler Jr. and Jacob Orr both singled after Maxwell Costes got hit by the pitch to load the bases with one out for the Terps in the fourth. Riley Langerman kept the merry-go-round in motion with a single, scoring Costes. 

Shliger then hit a sacrifice fly to score Schreffler. Alleyne recorded his third hit of the afternoon as he singled home Orr to tie the game at four.

“We’re extremely confident in the guy that’s up there hitting to do his job and get on base and then pass it on to the next guy,” Schreffler said. “I have full trust in the guys behind me and the guys in front of me and I think as a team that’s really good for us.”

The Terps resumed their bombardment in the fifth as Schreffler poked one just over the outfield wall for a two-run home run. Maryland took a 6-4 lead entering the midway point of the game.

With Jose Cabrera pitching in the sixth, Shliger and Shaw both reached base, but the Terps left them hanging. Ramsey sent the Sycamores down in the bottom half to continue finding his groove.

Lane Miller came in to relieve Cabrera in the seventh after Bobby Zmarzlak notched his first hit of the weekend. Miller put aside Costes, but enabled Schreffler to reach base on a fielder’s choice. Langerman struck out to end the inning after that.

After allowing two one-out base runners in the bottom of the seventh, Matt Orlando came in to relieve Ramsey. Ramsey finished his day after 103 pitches, seven hits, four runs, four walks and four strikeouts.

“The best thing [Ramsey] has done in his three starts this year is he has gotten better as the games have gone on,” Head Coach Rob Vaughn said.

Orlando walked first baseman Diego Gines to juice the bases and walked left fielder Aaron Beck right after to force in a run, making it 6-5 Maryland. Third baseman Randall Diaz later hit a hotshot right at Jacob Orr who put the inning to bed.

Shliger singled to start the eighth and Alleyne followed with a double. Matt Shaw brought them both in with a two-run single. That was enough for Indiana State to call on Raine Richter to succeed Miller.

Heading into the final frame, Schreffler and Zach Martin both got on base via walks. Martin, who is celebrating his birthday today, served as a pinch hitter for Langerman. Schreffler then scored off a Shliger single through the right side, making it 9-5 Terps.

Maryland was not done yet in the ninth. Alleyne hit a sacrifice fly to center field, enabling Martin to score. Shliger came home a few pitches later on a wild pitch. Matt Shaw put the icing on the cake with a solo home run.

“There’s no pressure really on anybody, I think everybody can take over a game, whether it’s Bubba and Luke at the top or Nick, Bob, Max and Troy behind,” Shaw said. “I think all of us work well together.”

Ryan Van Buren came in to close it out for the Terps. He gave up one run as his defense turned a double play, but was able to close the door, giving Maryland a 12-6 victory over Indiana State.

“They really compete with two strikes, they’re pretty gritty,” Vaughn said about Indiana State. “So for [Ramsey] to go up and just continue to get better and get us deep into the game to where we only had to go Orlando [and] Van Buren to finish that thing was huge for us today.”