After winning a high scoring affair on Saturday, Maryland looked to take the series from the first place Cornhuskers on Sunday at HeyMarket Park in Lincoln. The Terps gave the ball to freshman Jason Savacool in hopes of taking the series.

Nebraska broke the game open very early in the second inning. Savacool gave up a leadoff single, got the first out of the inning, and then the game began to unravel. The next five Huskers all reached via hit. The inning was blown open when Nebraska catcher Griffin Everitt launched a ball deep to right that barely stayed in the park, but scored two runs and made the score 4-0. Nebraska would add one more thanks to an RBI hit from right fielder Joe Acker. Savacool was pulled after recording the second out of the inning, with the score at 5-0.

“Jason was great in the first inning,” said head coach Rob Vaughn. “We felt like once that inning ended, it was gonna be one of those days where he was locked in. He left a lot of pitches up in the second inning and that’s what really hurt him.”

Chris Alleyne was able to get a run back in the top of the third for the Terps as he launched a solo home run with two out to right field.

The Cornhuskers were able to strike for two more runs in the fourth inning off of Terps reliever Connor Staine. The inning was highlighted by back-to-back RBI singles from Joe Acker and Jaxon Hallmark to make the score 7-1.

Shay Schanaman was brilliant for Nebraska through the first 6 innings. He gave up just the one home run to Alleyne through six innings. In the 7th, he gave up a single and then hit three consecutive Terrapins. The third one, which was Ben Cowles, was not liked at all by Nebraska head coach Will Bolt, and he was thrown out of the game. Maryland scored one more after Schanaman was taken out after Tucker Flint hit into a fielder’s choice. That made the score 7-3.

“I think Will thought that Ben did not make an effort to get out of the way. In college baseball, you can start your swing and if you get hit by the pitch, you go to first base,” said Vaughn. Will was pretty heated about that.”

Schanaman’s final line does not indicate how good he was on the hill for Nebraska. He went six innings, gave up only two hits, allowed three runs, and set a new career-high in strikeouts with 11.

“I was frustrated with our approach at the plate,” said Vaughn. “We knew he was going to throw the slider with two strikes, and it felt like we were surprised when the slider came.”

Gavin Stellpflug came into the game in the 8th inning for Maryland and got two out of the first three hitters and was then taken out for Sean Fisher. Fisher walked three consecutive hitters while throwing two wild pitches, which made the score 10-3. Zach Thompson then came into the game and gave up a walk which loaded the bases. That was followed by Brice Matthews hitting a grand slam which made the score 14-3, which was the final.

Maryland looked to even the series at a game a piece on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Unlike Friday, Maryland was able to get on the board first in the second inning. Ben Cowles stroked a one-out double down the left field line, and was driven in by Tucker Flint who singled up the middle to give Maryland a 1-0 lead. Tommy Gardiner would get a hit and advance him to third, but Chris Alleyne flew out to end the inning, limiting the damage for Nebraska.

The Terps threatened to score in the third after putting two men out with two out, but a Cowles strikeout ended the inning.

Nebraska was able to put a big third inning together off of Nick Dean. After a sac bunt to record the first out of the inning, the Cornhuskers had five straight men reach base. Joe Acker tied the game with a double, and Cam Chick laced a single to left that scored two and gave Nebraska the lead. Following that, Dean hit a batter and then gave up a sac-fly to make the score 4-1. A bizzare play following a double steal where Matt Shaw had the ball knocked away from him made the score 5-1.

Maryland would respond in the fifth inning. Following singles from Randy Bednar and Shaw, Maxwell Costes came through with an RBI single to make it 5-2. Unfortunately for the Terps, Matt Shaw was picked off of second base as he wandered too far off the bag. Following a Luke Shliger single, Ben Cowles launched his tenth home run of the year to tie the game at 5.

Nick Dean’s day ended for Maryland after getting the first out of the fifth inning. His final line was four and a thirds innings, four hits, five runs (four earned), two walks and a strikeout.

“I thought Dean wasn’t as sharp today,” said head coach Rob Vaughn. “Usually he gets a lot of swings and misses and he only had one strikeout today. Nebraska was very good when they fell behind in the count, as well.”

Nebraska was able to take the lead back in the bottom of the sixth after freshman Max Anderson launched a solo home run.

The Terps would respond quickly in the seventh thanks to a leadoff solo home run from freshman Matt Shaw to tie the game at 6. The other freshman in the starting lineup for Maryland, Luke Shliger, came through after a Maxwell Costes single and hit his first career home run to put the Terps up 8-6.

“I want us to be aggressive at the plate,” said Vaughn. “We want to make sure that we swing at the pitches in the zone, and Nebraska did a good job of throwing strikes. We did a good job of being ready for those strikes.”

“I never go up to the plate thinking about hitting a homer,” said Shliger. “The only thing I was trying to do was to get in scoring position.”

The Huskers were able to get one in the bottom half of the seventh back after a ball popped out of Justin Vought’s glove with two out and allowed Joe Acker to score.

Nebraska put together a rally in the bottom of the eighth, as they put two on with one out. But Sam Bello came on from the bullpen and struck out the next two Cornhuskers to end the inning.

Maryland was able to load the bases in the top of the ninth thanks to a hit by pitch, and two walks. Maryland was able to get some insurance after a wild pitch and an error which plated two runs, making the score 10-7.

Sam Bello came back out in the ninth and retired the side in order to lock up the win, evening the series at a game a piece.

“I thought we played with a lot of grit today,” said Vaughn. “We would prefer not to play from behind, but because we have come from behind to win so many times, we do not get phased when we fall into a hole.”

After weather forced Friday’s game to be moved up two hours, Maryland and Nebraska began their series-opener at 5:00 ET. Here is how the game went:

After Chris Alleyne was hit with a two strike pitch in the first inning, he was caught stealing in the first inning which took away any chance for the Terps to score in the first.

Nebraska was able to score in the first following a leadoff double from Joe Acker. Acker was advanced to third from a fly out, and would score following an RBI groundout from Spencer Schwellenbach.

The teams would lock in their pitching and defense very nicely as Sean Burke settled in for the Terps. Burke struck out the side in the bottom of the third, while Nebraska pitcher Cade Povich did not allow a hit until the top of the fourth inning.

“I think what made Povich so effective was his mixing off speeds, as well as his breaking ball was terrific,” said head coach Rob Vaughn. “We have seen higher velocity from other pitchers but he did a great job of mixing up his stuff.”

Maryland was able to tie the game in the fourth inning. After a two-out double from Luke Shliger, Ben Cowles was walked intentionally which set the stage for a bases loaded situation with two out for Tucker Flint. Flint was able to draw a walk to tie the game. Justin Vought would strikeout to end the inning.

Nebraska took the lead back in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a two-run single from shortstop Spencer Schwellenbach. Schwellenbach drove in Griffin Everitt, who led off the inning with a walk, and Acker, who doubled down the third base line. The Huskers were able to add another run after Schwellenbach took off for third, and Vought’s throw to third was above the head of Matt Shaw, which allowed Schwellenbach to score.

In the bottom of the sixth, a home run from Brice Matthews, which just snuck over the glove of Chris Alleyne, made the score 5-1, and ended the day for Burke. Burke’s final line was 5.2 IP, four hits, five runs (four earned), three walks, and six strikeouts.

“I thought Burke was dominant,” said catcher Justin Vought. “I thought other than the slash double in the fifth inning, that this was his best start.

“The original plan was to take Burke out after the first two hitters, and we should have done that,” said Vaughn. “Going back on it we should have put Heine in to face Matthews.”

In the top of the seventh, senior catcher Justin Vought launched a long home run which cut the lead to 5-2, and also ended the day for Huskers starter Cade Povich. Povich was terrific going 6 1/3 innings, giving up four hits, two earned runs, walking three, and striking out five. Maryland was able to get Shaw up as the tying run against Cam Wynne, but Shaw grounded out to end the inning.

Brice Matthews came through again for the Huskers in the eighth, as he laced a single up the middle to plate Nebraska’s sixth run of the game, which came off of Terps freshman pitcher David Falco.

Spencer Schwellenbach came in from shortstop to pitch the ninth, and recorded the final three outs for Nebraska.

“I thought the atmosphere was good for our guys to play in,” said Vaughn. “But I told them if you thought that was something, wait until Saturday and Sunday.”

“I loved going out there and playing in front of all those people,” Alleyne said. “We have to embrace playing on the road and it was fun to see people in the crowd.”