Maryland had just fought back from a two-run deficit to tie Sunday’s matchup against Indiana when Logan Hastings took the mound to start the bottom of the sixth. The freshman right-hander had evaded disaster on multiple occasions in his previous three innings of relief. The sixth inning, however, was a different story. 

A lead-off base hit, an RBI double, and a two-run blast all in succession chased Hastings. But that was just the beginning. With the wind blowing out to left field, the Hoosiers slugged two more homers in that direction, taking an 8-3 lead against the lowly Terps bullpen.    

Maryland added a couple of scores but couldn’t substantially cut into the lofty deficit. The Terps eventually fell 15-5 in eight innings, as Indiana’s Devin Taylor clubbed a three-run, mercy rule-activating homer to close out the rubber match at Bart Kaufman Field.

The Terps now sit at 2-8 in Sunday games this season with another series-ending loss.  

Jake Yeager, Maryland’s (18-23, 5-13 Big Ten) Sunday starter, had struggled in his recent weekend appearances, and the same looked likely to transpire after Indiana’s (22-18, 12-9 Big Ten) first two batters. 

Eddie Hacopian — making just his third start in left field this season — misread a flyball down the line from leadoff hitter Will Moore. The ball carried over Eddie Hacopian’s head before bouncing to the wall in what went down as a double in the box score. 

Yeager then walked Taylor to put two on with no outs, though the freshman calmly limited the damage. A sacrifice fly and wild pitch allowed Moore to score, but Yeager struck out the next two batters to strand Taylor at third.  

Moore and Taylor each drew free passes to lead off the bottom of the third. Korbyn Dickerson — the Big Ten’s leader in RBIs — then dunked an RBI single into left field, which plated Moore. 

Dickerson’s knock also chased Yeager, who had an understandably short leash — one that was indicative of the Terps’ desperation to win a conference series. The freshman also didn’t have any run support to work with as Indiana starter Ben Grable limited Maryland to just two singles through the first three innings.

Hastings inherited Taylor and Dickerson when he took over in relief, but impressively stranded both Hoosiers after three flyouts. 

While Grable ultimately fared much better than Yeager, the Hoosier right-hander walked a tightrope in his own right. 

Orr and Chris Hacopian narrowly missed home runs in the first inning, and Grable’s first two outs of the fourth were warning-track flyouts to dead center field. But Alex Calarco finally muscled one beyond the fence with a two-out solo homer in that same fourth inning, shaving Maryland’s deficit in half at 2-1.     

The Terps had a chance to tie or take the lead in the following inning, after putting two runners in scoring position. But reliever Ryan Rushing got Eddie Hacopian to chase on a full-count offering.

Freshman Jake Hanley then made the missed opportunity sting even more for Maryland by lofting an opposite-field home run over the left field bullpen to lead off the bottom of the fifth. 

What seemed like a potential turning point, though, soon became a footnote when Calarco leveled the score with a backside home run to left field off of reliever Gavin Seebold. The Maryland catcher ultimately finished 3-for-4 with a team-leading three RBIs on the day.  

But Calrco’s game-tying blast soon lost its significance as well. 

Dickerson, Hanley, and Tyler Cerny clubbed the Hoosiers’ three homers in their five-run sixth inning. Indiana hitters managed six hits — five for extra bases — and a walk in the frame, against Hastings, James Gladden, and Cristofer Cespedes.  

Maryland quickly responded with a pair of seventh-inning runs on a 2-RBI single by Chris Hacopian. But the Terps’ 8-5 deficit was short-lived.

Dickerson scored Taylor on a base hit for the former’s fourth RBI and the latter’s second run of the day. Cooper Malamazian then put the Hoosiers in double figures with a sac fly, as Indiana essentially got both runs back.  

In the eighth, the Hoosiers scored a pair on a bases-loaded walk and wild pitch, before Taylor ended the afternoon on his three-run blast. He and Dickerson both finished with four RBIs in the rout. 

Maryland returns to College Park off the back of another series loss, but will have the chance to put that in the past during Tuesday’s midweek against Towson. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. with Tyler Lochte and Ryan Martin on the call for MBN.