Despite having the lead at one point… and making a comeback attempt, Maryland ‘(18-20, 4-12 BIG) was no match for Iowa (20-15, 5-10 BIG) during Game 1 of the series on Saturday in Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes won 14-4 in eight innings, with Iowa scoring six runs in the third and seven runs in the seventh.

Maryland got on the scoreboard early in Iowa City.

At first, it looked like Hawkeye starter Tyler Guerin would get a stress-free top of the first. He forced back-to-back groundouts to start his outing, but followed up with a walk and a pair of hit batters to load the bases. David Mendez placed a two-run single up the middle to put the Dirty Terps up 2-0 before the Iowa offense stepped on the field.

Evan Smith kept up Maryland’s momentum when he took the mound in the bottom half of the inning. Smith delivered a 1-2-3 inning, striking out two Hawkeyes in the process.

Smith continued to stifle Iowa in the second, stranding two runners and holding Maryland’s 2-0 lead. Unfortunately for him, his offense started stalling out as well. After Guerin’s two-out blunders in the first inning, the Hawkeyes’ starter held the Dirty Terps off the scoreboard the next two innings, putting Maryland down 1-2-3 in the third.

The Dirty Terps’ offensive struggles opened the door for Iowa. With two outs and a runner on first in the bottom of the third, Gable Mitchell belted a home run to straightaway center, tying the game 2-2. 

The Hawkeyes didn’t slow down the two-out rally either.

Now with runners standing on the corners, Carter Geffre made his second trip to the batter’s box. Iowa’s catcher launched a three-run blast over the batter’s eye in center, breaking the tie and giving the Hawkeyes their first lead of the afternoon. Joey Nerat hit an RBI double to the right field wall, adding another Iowa run before the end of the inning. 

By the end of the third, Iowa was up 6-2.

The Dirty Terps got back to work on offense after the Hawkeyes’ big inning. Ty Kaunas got a run back for Maryland, knocking a double off the wall in right-center to bring Jordan Crosland home.

Maryland got another run in the sixth when Nate Hawton-Henley hit a solo home run cutting the Hawkeyes lead down to two.

The Dirty Terps had momentum for a comeback, but those plans were ruined in the seventh inning when Iowa scored seven runs.

The seventh inning started when Kellen Strohmeyer and Kyle Alivo hit back-to-back doubles. 

Joey Nerat then hit an RBI single, and Maryland was down by four again. 

Iowa scored two more runs when Nerat crossed home plate on a wild pitch, and when Kooper Schulte scored on a Caleb Wulf RBI single. Peyton Mamula came on the mound for Maryland, but the pitching change didn’t help as Strokmeyer hit an RBI-triple, and Iowa was leading by nine.

Jaixen Frost’s RBI single in the eight gave Iowa the 14-4 win, and a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2 will be played on Saturday. Daniel Stein will be on the call for MBN.