Pitching woes have plagued the Terps recently, but on Wednesday night the bats just simply didn’t show up.    

One week on from Maryland’s (22-12, 4-5) improbable 13-12 walk-off win over UMBC (11-15, 3-3), the two squads met again on Wednesday evening, but this time, it was a much different story. After taking a lead midway through, the Retrievers leaned on stellar performances out of their bullpen to shut down the Maryland offense down the stretch, ultimately holding on for a 4-2 upset victory over the Terps.  

Maryland was subject to a high-school-style show-and-go on Wednesday night after heavy traffic on the bus ride to UMBC caused the Terps to arrive at Alumni Field just 30 minutes before first pitch.

The Terps didn’t even have a chance to take batting practice, and it showed, as Eddie Sargent — who was stellar for UMBC out of the bullpen last week — got the start for the Retrievers and completely dominated.    

Sargent was perfect through the first three innings of the game, and those were the only three innings he got, as UMBC made an early call to the bullpen to start the fourth. With his magnificent start, Sargent has now tossed a combined 6.1 innings of no-hit baseball between his two appearances against the Terps this season.     

Rather fittingly, The Terps offense woke up as soon as Sargent was lifted. 

Two walks and a double play put Brayden Martin on third with two away in the top of the fifth. The freshman then touched home as Sam Hojnar was able to leg out an RBI infield single. Hojnar wasn’t done either, as he got into scoring position by stealing second, and then coming around to score on a Kevin Keister base hit.

The Terps countered with Meade Johnson, who also made an appearance in last Wednesday’s game at “The Bob.” Johnson struggled mightily in that outing, as he faced four batters, walked three, and was charged with three earned runs after UMBC’s Justin Taylor hit a go-ahead grand slam right after he was pulled.  

This time around the junior looked much better. Through four innings of work, Johnson didn’t allow a run or a hit, and only two Retrievers were able to reach base – both on walks.  

Johnson’s fantastic evening took a turn in the fifth inning.

Luke Trythall led off the frame by blasting his first home run of the season over the right field fence, a moment that really altered the course of the game. Later in the inning the Retrievers strung together three straight singles, followed by a two-RBI double from Matthew Best, giving UMBC a one-run lead. 

Johnson was eventually able to get out of the fifth without any more damage and finished the evening with a line that read: L, 5 IP, 3R (all earned), 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K’s; a line that was ultimately tainted by a difficult fifth inning. 

Both sides had opportunities to score in the sixth inning, as each got two men on with less than two out. But UMBC’s Sam Daniels and Maryland’s Omar Melendez were both able to work out of their respective jams, keeping the score locked at 3-2 as they headed into the late innings. 

The Terps had another scoring opportunity in the eighth inning, but once again couldn’t capitalize.

Martin opened the frame by using his speed to beat out a grounder up the third baseline. He then went first to third on an Eddie Hacopian base hit, putting runners on the corners with just one away. Despite their earlier RBIs, Hojnar and Keister couldn’t come through this time, as Hojnar struck out swinging and Keister grounded out to end the threat. 

After the wasted opportunity in the top of the eighth, Trythall made Maryland’s comeback effort even more difficult by driving in a fourth UMBC run on a fielder’s choice, in the bottom of the frame. UMBC’s Matt Ryan was the runner who scored on that fielder’s choice, and he was able to go from first to third on the previous play after centerfielder Elijah Lambros booted a base hit.

Trailing by two in the ninth inning, the Cardiac Terps were unable to make an appearance on Wednesday night, as Retrievers reliever Sam Daniels retired the Terps in order, putting the finishing touches on a stunning UMBC victory. 

Wednesday’s loss to the Retrievers comes on the heels of Tuesday night’s 13-12 loss at Georgetown, meaning that the Terps have now lost four of their last five. Maryland will be looking to get back on track this weekend as they travel to Evanston to take on a Northwestern (10-19, 0-6) squad that has lost its last 10 in a row.