In just the second matchup in eight years between the No. 23 Maryland Terrapins and the Navy Midshipmen, the Terps defeated the Midshipmen, 18-10, in a high scoring bout. Both teams had a bullpen day with a total of 14 pitchers seeing action. The back and forth affair had offense all over the field, but specifically sophomore designated hitter Luke Shliger and senior center fielder Chris Alleyne were firing on all cylinders Tuesday night accounting for seven hits and eight RBI.

Maryland started out a tad slow in the top of the first inning, with two errors leading to two runs. Freshman starting pitcher Andrew Johnson accounted for one of the errors and didn’t last past the opening inning as sophomore pitcher Logan Ott took his spot to start the second frame. 

The Terps regained their footing thanks to a Midshipmen error of their own allowing Maryland to respond with two runs in the bottom half of the first inning. Shliger and senior outfielder Chris Alleyne scored on a lead-off walk and a triple respectively, tying up the ball game 2-2 after the first. 

With the top of the order up again in the third, Shliger and Alleyne capitalized again with a lead-off walk and a nuke to right field for Alleyne for a 4-2 lead. Senior first baseman Maxwell Costes would later drive in another run with an RBI single to give Maryland a 5-2 lead. 

Sophomore shortstop Matt Shaw added a three run home run to the scoreboard in the fifth to break open the game 9-2. On the flip side, the Terps were also looking strong on the mound and in the field through four innings. 

Ott, who frequently pitches midweek games, didn’t flinch as soon as he entered the ballgame. The sophomore got Navy down in order in the second and fourth innings, and didn’t allow a hit until the fifth. While he looked strong, Ott gave up a pair of singles followed by a three-run shot to pull within four runs in the fifth inning. 

The Midshipmen were able to keep pace with the Terps battling back from seven down. Navy answered with seven of their own runs during the fifth and sixth innings, getting the job done in almost every fashion.

Maryland, who looked shaky and potentially ready to cough up a big lead, answered the bell and came back with nine runs of their own over the last three innings. Alleyne added to his home run total yet again, and took sole possession of first place in the Big Ten with a three run blast for his 13th homer of the year. The Terps tallied six home runs against the Midshipmen, 

The Terps, who have now tallied three wins in a row, will turn to the Northwestern Wildcats who will visit College Park and rank in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten. The Wildcats are in the upper echelon of the conference in batting, pitching and fielding which will be a great test for Maryland.