Nebraska went into the bottom of the second confident. It had just scored two more runs to extend its lead to three, and Maryland ace Kyle McCoy had yet to strike anyone out. 

But that 3-0 advantage would ultimately be the Cornhuskers’ largest lead of the game 

After tying up Friday’s series opener against Nebraska in the bottom of the second inning, Maryland’s offense completely took control of the matchup to earn an impressive 12-5 team victory. More importantly, it was the Terps’ win in a Big Ten series opener this season. 

“It sets us up for success, but I feel like we are nowhere near content,” sophomore Liam Willson said.

It took Nebraska virtually no time to get the scoring rolling. 

Cornhuskers two-hole hitter Cayden Brumbaugh sent Nebraska’s first hit of the game over the left field fence for a solo homer. 

Maryland wasn’t able to respond immediately. It ended with no runs, no hits, as Nebraska came out with a lead after the game’s first inning. 

Nebraska’s offense succeeded again in the second inning. 

McCoy went another inning without striking anyone out, as the Huskers added two more runs to the board, extending their lead to three. 

Needing an offensive spark, Alex Calarco set the table in the second with a one-out walk. From there, Elijah Lambros doubled to left center, scoring Calarco as Maryland’s offense was finally in business. 

The rally continued when Aden Hill brought Hollis Porter in to score on a sacrifice fly to left field. 

The scoring ceased as Willson singled to center field, allowing Lambros to run home. The team effort saw the Terps storm back into the game by tying the score at 3-3. 

Nebraska got a walk to lead off the third, but McCoy settled in after that. 

McCoy mirrored the Terps’ offensive success by getting a fielder’s choice and a fly out, before earning his first strikeout of the day to end Nebraska’s first scoreless inning of the evening.

The Terps then manufactured two more runs in the third inning to take their first lead of the night at 5-3. 

Nebraska put one more run on the board in the fourth thanks to an RBI base hit by Robby Bolin, but it wasn’t enough to tie up the game as the Cornhuskers continued trailing by one. 

Willson, who left a lasting impact on Friday’s win, scored his first home run in a Maryland uniform, with his fourth-inning blast to left center. It also extended Maryland’s lead to two once again. 

By the end of the sixth, McCoy had thrown exactly 100 pitches, so Logan Hastings stepped onto the mound to relieve him in the seventh. 

Hastings had a rocky start, though. The Cornhuskers got a man in scoring position, and they took advantage. 

Again, Brumbaugh was in the middle of it all. He ran to third on a wild pitch before scoring on an RBI double. That closed the gap to one, but it didn’t stay that way for very long.

Maryland worked as a team to respond to Nebraska’s one-run home by scoring five — two of them being home runs from Porter (his 15th of the year) and Hill (his eighth). 

“Our better guys gotta perform if we’re gonna win,” head coach Matt Swope said. 

It was Willson who closed out the seventh. A rolling ground ball off the bat of Brayden Martin gave Willson just enough time to run home all the way from second. That capped off Willson’s night of pairs with two runs, two hits, and two RBIs.  

“Feels like a long time coming,” Willson said of his dynamic performance.

With Maryland’s lead extended to six, the fate of Friday’s result was once again down to the bullpen.

Hastings proved to be up to the task though. He struck out two hitters in the eighth before closing it out in the ninth for his first collegiate save. 

“I executed way better than I did against Indiana,” Hastings said. 

The vital victory set Maryland up with back-to-back wins for the first time since mid-March.

The Terps will also have two shots at their first series win of the season, starting with tomorrow’s Maryland Day clash. First pitch is set for 2 p.m., with Jack Susanin and Benji Kaufman on the call for MBN.