Maryland pitching held UCLA scoreless for eight of Sunday’s nine innings. But in the lone inning that the Bruins did score, they posted double-digits.

The Terps battled throughout the rest of Sunday’s contest after surrendering 11 runs in the second inning, but they couldn’t piece together a frame of more than two runs at any point. Fueled by its emphatic second inning, UCLA coasted to an 11-5 victory over Maryland at “The Bob,” in Sunday’s rubber match.

It’s the first time the Terps have dropped their Big Ten opening series since the 2021 season. 

“We’re an average team still — another 2-2 week. I thought we played well for the majority of the innings, albeit the final couple innings on Friday and the second inning [today],” head coach Matt Swope said. “Pretty happy with how we played overall from the weekend, but we’re still two and two.” 

Maryland (8-7) starter Joey McMannis got himself into early trouble. 

He worked around a leadoff double from left fielder Dean West to escape the first, but the Bruins (12-4) loaded the bases in the following frame. 

Blake Balsz and Roman Martin whacked consecutive singles before an error on Brayden Martin filled the bags with nobody out. Catcher Cashel Dugger then drew a walk that brought Balsz in to score as the Bruins took an early 1-0 lead.

That advantage grew exponentially.

Second baseman Phoenix Call hit a ground ball off the glove of Maryland third baseman Eddie Hacopian, which brought in two more runs.

UCLA’s batting order turned over after that. West lofted a fly ball to shallow left that looked to be an easy first out. Instead, Jacob Orr lost it in the sun which resulted in two more runs coming in to score. 

McMannis then walked Roch Cholowsky, putting runners on first and second — still with no outs recorded in the frame. Bruin first baseman Mulivai Levu promptly emptied the bases by crushing a three-run homer over the batter’s eye in center field. 

That put the Bruins up 8-0 and ended McMannis’ brutal afternoon. 

The sophomore failed to record an out in the second inning. He tossed 56 total pitches, giving up eight runs (seven earned) on six hits.

“We’ve got to get a better start. Simple as that. Yeah we had a couple plays defensively, but the game was pretty much out of hand from there,” Swope said.

Brayden Ryan came in to relieve McMannis, but Maryland’s struggles continued. 

With the Bruins already batted around, Ryan gave up a single to Balsz and a walk to Roman Martin. Dugger brought Balsz home on a base-hit before Call singled to plate Roman Martin. West then doubled for his third hit in just two innings, this time, scoring Dugger. 

Ryan eventually escaped the horrendous second inning by getting Cholowsky to fly out, but the day’s result was virtually sealed. UCLA led 11-0 and was already on its third time through the batting order after just two innings.

Like McMannis, UCLA sophomore right-hander Landon Stump also pitched through inconsistent command. But in contrast to the Maryland starter, Stump escaped jams in both the first and second innings, as the Terps stranded multiple runners in both situations.

But Maryland did break through for a run in the bottom of the third. 

Eddie Hacopian took a pitch to the hand from Stump, causing a scary moment at “The Bob” as he went down in pain. A silent home crowd soon drew relief though, as the Maryland captain stood up and made his way to first base. 

Younger brother Chris Hacopian then walked, but the next two Terps struck out, bringing Aden Hill to the dish with two away. 

The VCU transfer finally put the Terps on the board by doubling down the left-field line which scored Eddie Hacopian. 

Orr then worked a walk to load the bases for Liam Willson, but the Terps’ rally ended there. Stump recorded his fourth strikeout of the game by getting Willson swinging.

Stranded runners became a theme for the Terps offensively. They left 13 runners on, which hindered any chances of making a miraculous comeback. 

After allowing the final three runs in the disastrous second inning, Ryan was brilliant the rest of the way. He tossed back-to-back 1-2-3 frames in the third and fourth, keeping the Terps from falling even further behind. 

Ryan exited after that fourth, finishing the day with 43 pitches and one strikeout.

Maryland’s bats continued fighting during that time despite the massive deficit.

In the fifth, Alex Calarco hit a one-out double off the batter’s eye out in center, ending the day for Landon Stump. 

The Bruins starter didn’t have his best stuff on Sunday, but he managed to comfortably work his way out of multiple jams behind his double-digit run support. Stump ultimately allowed just one run on four hits, while recording four punchouts over 4.1 innings.

Hill continued his productive afternoon against reliever Michael Barnett. The junior outfielder singled to left-center field, bringing in Calarco which cut UCLA’s lead to 11-2. But once again, Maryland ended the frame with just the lone run across.

The Terps brought home a third run in the sixth via a Brayden Martin RBI single, which scored Michael Iannazzo. The sophomore infielder then delivered in the seventh, when he doubled down the right-field line to score both Hill and Orr.

“I talk about guys all the time about seizing the opportunity when they get in there … [Iannazzo stepped up] and gave us a little spark there,” Swope said.

The Maryland bullpen — an inconsistent unit so far this season — kept the Bruins off the board while the bats made Sunday’s scoreline more respectable.

Four Terps relievers — Cristofer Cespedes, Devin Milberg, Logan Koester, and Andrew Koshy — kept the Bruins hitless from the fifth through the eighth, allowing just three baserunners on a HBP and two walks.

Andrew Johnson took the hill in the ninth, allowing the Bruins their first hit since the disastrous second inning — a single by Roman Martin. Johnson worked around it though, capping off a masterful bullpen performance. 

But despite the bullpen success, the Terps failed to score in the final two frames. The Bruins took home the 11-5 win for their first-ever Big Ten series victory. 

Maryland plays its next matchup on the road this Tuesday. The Terps will face No. 9 Virginia at 5:35 p.m. at Virginia Credit Union Stadium in Fredericksburg, VA. Ben Storber and Tyler Lochte will be on the call for MBN.