After a series against Northwestern where runs were a common occurrence, a midweek pitchers duel was due for the Dirty Terps on Tuesday afternoon. A bullpen game between Maryland and UMBC resulted in ample offense but few runs.

A combined 14 hits, 9 walks, and 5 hit batters typically yields more than seven combined runs, but each side struggled to make good on their many opportunities. Both Maryland and UMBC finished the game with 10 runners left on base.

But with a 2-2 tie in the top of the eighth inning, UMBC had the game’s decisive moment. Junior Derek Paris took Cristofer Cespedes deep, crushing a two-run shot off the left field foul pole to put the Retrievers ahead by a pair. 

UMBC later added an insurance run in the ninth, as it notched a 5-2 victory over Maryland — the Golden Retrievers’ first win at “The Bob” in 20 years. 

Both starters, Maryland’s (14-15, 3-6 Big Ten) Brayden Ryan and UMBC’s (9-13, 2-4 AEC) Sergio Droz, got off to rocky starts. A combined three hit-by-pitches and two walks signaled command issues for each righthander, though neither offense did any damage with their gifted baserunners.

“In the first inning when [they gave us] three freebies, you gotta push something across right there,” Maryland head coach Matt Swope said, “In the first, the third, the fifth, the seventh, we had a lead-off guy on and didn’t score.”

Ryan settled in during the following frame, posting a zero after working around a one-out single. Droz also found a rhythm, recording two strikeouts in the bottom half of the second.

Jesiah Carpenter got his second look at Ryan in the third and made the most of it, singling up the middle. He then stole second and advanced to third on a flyout. 

Redshirt sophomore Leewood Molessa singled, bringing Carpenter in for the first run of the game. Ryan later escaped the inning with just the lone run on the board after Danny Orr, Jacob Orr’s brother, grounded into a double play. 

Both starting pitchers’ days came to an end following the third inning. Ayden Gonzalez replaced Droz and Jack Wren came in for Ryan. Each reliever allowed multiple baserunners in their first inning of work, but neither offense cashed in. 

Junior Matt Cunningham replaced Gonzalez to start the fourth. The righty induced a quick groundout before the Terps jumped him for a pair. 

Jacob Orr doubled before Elijah Lambros blasted a home run to left field — his second of the season. That shot put the Terps both on the board and into the lead. 

Cunningham’s day ended after one more batter, as he walked Liam Willson in seeming perpetuation of Maryland’s rally. But the graduate reliever’s replacement, Emmett Tolis, got Brayden Martin to fly out to right-center field. Tolis’ battery mate Danny Wyatt then caught Willson stealing to end the inning.   

Wren and Tolis each worked around baserunners in the fifth, both escaping with no damage done.

VCU transfer James Gladden made his first appearance as a Terp in relief of Wren for the sixth inning. Coming back from Tommy John surgery, Gladden recorded a strikeout against the first batter he faced, getting a warm ovation from his teammates in the third-base dugout. 

Gladden did give up the tying run on an RBI single later in the frame, but nevertheless, it was a solid starting point for the redshirt sophomore from Baltimore.

“It’s tough when you go through an injury like that and you’re out for so long,” Swope said. “Happy for him as a person, as a kid, to get out there and compete again.” 

Steady relief efforts remained the theme as Cespedes worked a clean top and bottom half of the seventh. 

Bell started the seventh, but Nick Remy finished it. Bell allowed two baserunners in Martin and Chris Hacopian, but Remy got the Retrievers out of the jam. UMBC’s best high-leverage reliever struck out both Alex Calarco and Hollis Porter to silence the threat.

Cespedes went back to work in the seventh and immediately hit Danny Orr square on the back. Paris brought Danny Orr across on his go-ahead two-run shot. It was Paris’ third blast of the season. 

Remy continued dominating the Terps’ lineup in the eighth, mowing the Terps down in order. He also got some help from Danny Orr who robbed his brother Jacob of extra bases with a leaping grab near the left-center field wall.

Hoping for a shutdown inning, Swope turned to Joey McMannis in the ninth. 

Carpenter knocked a one-out single up the middle and then swiped second for his second stolen bag of the game. Anthony Mascuilli then walked before Leewood Molesa singled Carpenter home. 

That fifth UMBC run was upheld after a review, as Carpenter narrowly beat Calarco’s tag without a slide.

McMannis ran into more traffic later in the inning but struck Paris out looking to avoid complete catastrophe for Maryland.

But the Terps were without a cardiac-esque comeback.

Remy returned to the mound and completed his eight-out save to seal the Golden Retrievers 5-2 victory.

“We just haven’t been consistent all year. It’s up one day and down the next,” Swope said.

The wavering Terps haven’t won consecutive games since March 14th and are desperately looking for some stability. They’ll have an opportunity to get back on track this weekend though.

Maryland travels to Champaign for a three-game set against Illinois this weekend. Oliver Schaack will have the solo call of all three contests for MBN.