Down to their final out in a four-run deficit, Maryland rallied to force extra innings but ultimately came up short in a wild ballgame at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium. The Terps fell to Georgetown on Tuesday by a final of 10-9.

Nate Haberthier got the start on the mound for the Terps, his fifth of the season. The junior right-hander retired the two first batters he faced, but then allowed four straight Hoyas to reach with two outs, and Georgetown jumped out to an early 3-0 lead.

In the bottom of the first, Ian Petrutz announced his return with a bang after missing the last five games with an eye injury. The sophomore designated hitter crushed a two-run homer to left center to get the Terps back within a run.

“It’s great to get (Petrutz) back,” Maryland head coach Rob Vaughn said. “He’s a veteran player… he’s important to our offense.”

Haberthier ran into some trouble in the third after plunking the leadoff man and allowing a double to right fielder Jake Hyde to give the Hoyas two runners in scoring position with no outs. After the next two batters each lined out, Haberthier was pulled after lasting 2.2 innings having allowed three earned runs. Kenny Lippman got the call out of the bullpen and struck out shortstop Andrew Kretzschmar to get the Terps out of the inning unharmed.

Georgetown starter Collin Garner walked the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the third, but Bobby Zmarzlak hit a chopper back to the mound that the Hoyas turned into an inning-ending double play. Both teams threatened, but neither scored in the third.

The scoring resumed in the fifth inning when Georgetown star Ubaldo Lopez crushed a two-run home run to center field. Two batters later, second baseman Michael Eze launched a solo shot to extend the Hoyas lead to 6-2.

Just as they did in the first inning, Maryland’s offense answered in the bottom half of the inning. With two on and two out, Eddie Hacopian laced a double to left field just over the glove of Lopez to plate both runners. After a pitching change, Zach Martin struck out to end the inning, and the Terps trailed 6-4 through five innings.

Elijah Lambros led off the sixth with a single up the middle and Kevin Keister followed with a double to put the tying run in scoring position with the top of the order due up. After Luke Shliger struck out, Nick Lorusso grounded out to the left side to bring Lambros home. One run was all the Terps would get in the inning, as they still trailed 6-5 after the sixth.

Tommy Kane retired the first five batters he faced out of the bullpen, but allowed back-to-back solo homers to Lopez and Hyde that put the Hoyas back up by three in the top of the seventh. Lopez has 11 home runs on the season, including three in two matchups with the Terps. 

In the bottom of the eighth, Keister led off with a single and Shliger walked to give the Terps a huge opportunity with the heart of their order coming up. Lorusso, Matt Shaw, and Petrutz each stepped up to the plate representing the tying run but none of them could cash in. The Terps left 13 runners on base in the ballgame.

“That game was lost in the middle,” Vaughn said. “We had so many opportunities… we couldn’t string more than two or three together and then we’d have an at-bat that kind of blew up the inning.”

After Georgetown added a run in the top of the ninth, the Terps loaded the bases with one out, bringing the tying run to the plate once again. Keister struck out, but the Terps would not go silently into the night. Down to their last out, Shliger lined a two-run single into right to make it a 9-7 game. Representing the winning run, Lorusso laced a line drive into the left center field gap. Lopez got his glove on the ball but was unable to make the play, and Shliger came all the way around to score the tying run. The play was officially scored as an E7. With Lorusso on second, Petrutz struck out to end the ninth and send the game to extra innings.

It would not take long for Georgetown to reclaim the lead. Three batters into the tenth inning, Marco Castillo crushed a double off the center field wall to bring a runner home from first. The next two batters were retired, and the Terps had their backs against the wall once again, trailing 10-9. Maryland did not have another rally in them, however; they went down in order to end the ballgame. 

The loss is Maryland’s second straight and their fourth in their last six games, dropping their record to 19-13 (4-2). The Terps will travel to Columbus this weekend to take on Ohio State.