The Terrapins won their first two games of the weekend by generous margins, outscoring opponents 19-4, but on Sunday they rallied back late in the ninth to secure a 4-2 victory over the College of Charleston in the biggest comeback of the year.

Maryland tallied just three hits through the first eight innings, all of which came from the first three frames. In the ninth alone the Terrapins matched that hit total as center fielder Chris Alleyne started it off with a single, followed by freshman Tucker Flint who shot a double down the line.

Flint, who appeared as Maryland’s designated hitter on Sunday, has started all three games to start the season and leads the team with a .667 on-base-percentage at the end of the weekend.

A sacrifice fly from right fielder Randy Bednar plated Alleyne, bringing in his team-high fifth RBI of the season.

Following Bednar was first baseman Michael Pineiro, who replaced sophomore Maxwell Costes as a pinch runner. In his first at-bat of the season, Pineiro dropped a suicide squeeze that scored Flint to tie the game in an electrifying way.

The Terrapins wasted no time in extra innings, scoring the go-ahead and insurance runs quickly in the 10th. Third baseman Tommy Gardiner, who earned two hits on the afternoon, scored from second on a wild pitch to give the Terrapins their first lead. Pinch runner Austin Chavis followed with a wild pitch run of his own to put the team up 4-2.

With the win, Maryland stayed perfect on the weekend, going 3-0 for the first time since the 2015 season. In that season, the Terrapins made a Super Regional, the last time the team appeared in the tournament.

The unsung hero of the game for the Terrapins was starting pitcher Sean Burke. After being redshirted in 2019 due to injury, the righty was dominant in his first career start.

In five innings, the righty fanned eight batters, four of which came in the first two frames. Burke was the third Maryland starting pitcher to debut in as many games. He went five scoreless, and left in the sixth with two runners on, one of which scored on a fielder’s choice for the game’s first run.

Three arms came out of the bullpen for Maryland, the most that coach Rob Vaughn has had to use all season. Mark DiLuia tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. Trevor LaBonte came in for the close in the 10th and earned a 1-2-3 inning to give the Terrapins the win.

For the second consecutive day, a slow start in the batter’s box was wiped away in one inning for the Terrapins. A 10-batter inning in the third proved to be the turning point in Maryland’s second straight win to start the year, defeating Iona 8-2.

Center fielder Chris Alleyne led the inning off with his third double of the year that shot down the line and dribbled to the left field wall. The Terrapins dealt with a few free bases to load the bases for a majority of the inning.

Right fielder Randy Bednar tied the game for Maryland with a sacrifice fly into left, bringing in his first RBI of 2020. The junior is hitting a solid .333 through the first two games of the season.

Following Bednar was first baseman Maxwell Costes who stroked his second single of the day, the other coming in the first inning that brought in freshman Tucker Flint for the team’s first run.

Flint, who made his debut as the designated hitter, moved to left field and up to the two-hole for the Terrapins on Saturday after reaching base four times on Friday. The freshman was hit by Iona pitchers in his first two plate appearances, and later doubled to left field. He reached base a total of four times on the day, keeping his OBP to .800 on the season.

An oddity of sorts that is starting to become a theme for the Terrapins is the statistic of 11 hit-by-pitches in just the first two games.

Adding to the list of freshmen making their debuts for Maryland this weekend was designated hitter Bobby Zmarzlak. The No. 1 ranked prospect in the Big Ten, according to Perfect Game, earned a hard-fought walk on a full count to bring in his first RBI as a Terrapin in the long third inning.

Junior Tommy Gardiner also earned an RBI with a bullet up the middle to plate a run in the inning. The third baseman has been productive out of the nine-hole for the Terrapins, holding a .500 average through the first two days.

Maryland tallied nine hits on the afternoon in its second consecutive win, while the Gaels also had nine. Iona, who had just 14 wins a season ago, dropped its first game against the College of Charleston on Friday night and continued to struggle against the Terrapins.

On the other side of the ball, more newcomers made their debuts in a Maryland uniform. Freshman Nick Dean took the mound for the Terrapins and in 4 2/3 innings he fanned six hitters and forfeited just two earned runs.

In relief for Maryland was freshman Ryan Ramsey. The lefty tossed 2 1/3 innings from the bullpen, not allowing his first hit until the eighth inning. Ramsey finished with four strikeouts and just the one hit on a scoreless outing.

Sophomore Sean Heine made his first appearance of the season to close things out on the mound. In two innings of work, Heine fanned three and allowed two hits.

After four players made their debuts in the game on Friday night, three more Terrapins suited up for Saturday’s game for the first time.

After five runners were stranded on base through the first five innings, the Terrapins found a way to use some two-out magic in the sixth to regain a lead they would not again forfeit. In Maryland’s first game of the 2020 season, it was the four Terrapins making their debuts who carried the team to a 11-2 win over Charleston Southern.

The rally began with none other than freshman Tucker Flint, who in his Maryland debut found his way on four out of five times he came up to the plate, including three hits and an RBI. The Terrapins’ designated hitter shot a single into center and was followed by shortstop Ben Cowles, who earned a walk with two outs.

Another newcomer to the Maryland roster, junior transfer Austin Chavis, poked a ball to third that ended up thrown over first baseman Ryan Stoudemire’s head and brought in Flint to tie the game at two.

Maryland third baseman Tommy Gardiner looped a single into the infield grass that couldn’t be picked up in time, bringing in Cowles and giving the Terrapins the lead.

Gardiner, who lacked playing time in his sophomore season due to injury, found his way into the Maryland starting lineup for the season opener.

Freshman left fielder Troy Schreffler used his arm in the beginning of the game to throw out a Buccaneer at home, and then in the ninth joined the offensive onslaught with a two-RBI triple.

The Terrapins finished with 10 hits on the night, compared to Charleston Southern’s four.

Southpaw Sean Fisher started on the mound for Maryland on Friday night, making it his first career start in his junior season. Ace Hunter Parsons left the team after last spring and was drafted by the New York Mets, leaving the weekend opener slot wide open for the taking.

In 5 1/3 innings, Fisher tossed 92 pitches and earned five strikeouts. Two runs crossed the plate with the lefty on the mound, neither of them earned as they both came from Maryland errors in the second inning. Fisher finished the game with his first win of the year.

In relief for Maryland was freshman Sam Bello. In his collegiate debut, the right-hander stranded two Buccaneers on base with a strikeout to end the inning and hold on to the lead in the sixth. He followed his first inning with six more strikeouts in three additional innings of work, including striking out the side in the eighth.

The Terrapins literally started right away as leadoff hitter Chris Alleyne dumped a ball into left field that ended up as a double in what was the first pitch of the season. Two batters later, right fielder Randy Bednar dribbled a ball to the left side of the infield that brought in Alleyne for the game’s first run.

In the back half of the contest, the Terrapins really broke things open in the seventh as three straight players earned free passage to first via hit-by-pitches.

Catcher Justin Vought brought in a run after being pegged on the foot, and was followed by an RBI single from Flint’s third hit of the night. Gardiner drew a walk later in the inning, bringing in his second RBI on the night.

Alleyne finished things off in the inning with his second double of the night that brought in Vought and Flint, increasing the Terrapin lead to six runs.

The dominant start by Fisher followed by the closing by Bello saved Maryland’s bullpen for the remaining two games of the season, both of which will be started by freshmen.

In the bottom of the third inning, Team Papio shortstop Ben Cowles sent out a deep ball as centerfielder Troy Schreffler could do nothing but stand and watch as it cleared the wall.

Cowles’ two-run big fly opened the game wide open as Team Papio went on to defeat Team Swope 16-6 for the team’s second consecutive blowout win in the Fall World Series.

The offense-heavy victory for Papio began in the first inning of the contest. The inning started with three batters reaching base. Center fielder Chris Alleyne led off by reaching on an error, followed by a drop-third strike that scored Alleyne after he stole two bases. The center fielder ended the game with three stolen bases.

First baseman Michael Pineiro followed with the game’s first hit, leaving left fielder Ben Irvine to do the heavy lifting. Irvine sent a dart past a diving Josh Maguire up the middle to drive in two runs, closing out a three-run first inning.

To finish the onslaught, Alleyne led off the sixth with solo shot that sailed to dead center, followed by an RBI double by Cowles to plate the team’s 16th run.

Team Papio managed to get a leadoff runner on base in five out of six innings of play. Eight hits were spread equally throughout the lineup as both new and returning faces contributed in the win.

Small ball drove in a majority of the runs for Team Papio, aside from the big hits from Cowles and Irvine. A total of 16 walks for the team landed runners on base in every inning, and even drove in some of the team’s runs.

On the other side of the ball, Team Papio starter Mike Vasturia shined on the mound in his 2019 Fall World Series debut. In four innings of work, the right-hander tallied three strikeouts while allowing just three hits and a run.

Despite the blowout loss, Team Swope wasn’t all that bad at the plate once Vasturia went to the dugout.

The offense showed signs of life in the fifth inning when Vasturia exited the game. Catcher Brenton Davis plated two runs on a single that ended Team Papio’s shutout.

In the final inning, Team Swope managed to score four runs off a Randy Bednar single and a Maxwell Costes double down the left field line.

Defensive woes were prevalent in the game, however.  Team Swope issued six consecutive walks in the fourth inning to bring in four runs in the defeat.

The 16 runs scored for Team Papio increase the team’s total in the first two games of the Fall World Series to 21, while conceding just seven runs.

The full Maryland baseball team will be back in action on Sunday as the Terrapins take on St. John’s in an 18-inning exhibition.