The Dirty Terps are back-to-back outright Big Ten Champions.

Following Indiana’s loss on Friday night to Michigan State, the Terps earned the championship, but with the chance to share it with the Hoosiers if the Terps lost and the Hoosiers won on Saturday. 

However, there will be no sharing in College Park for the second consecutive year. The Terps beat the Penn State Nittany Lions in game three on Saturday, 7-4. Along with clinching the title, they extend their Big Ten series win streak to 23. They’ll enter Omaha as the first seed, with the first game set for Tuesday. 

The Terps’ offense was humming in the finale with contributions from the entire lineup. Along with the title being captured and the win streak being extended, two Maryland players set new records, forever cementing their place in Maryland baseball history.

Catcher Luke Shliger scored his 182nd career run, the most in program history. He passed assistant coach Matt Swope, who had 181 in his time playing for the Terps from 1999-2002. 

With his two RBIs today, third baseman Nick Lorusso ended his regular season with 96 RBIs, the most RBIs by a single player in any program in Big Ten history. 

Penn State jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the second inning off the bat of designated hitter CJ Pittaro, whose triple brought shortstop Jay Harry across. The next inning, the Terps evened it up after Ian Petrutz flew out, bringing Shliger across. 

In the fourth, Matt Woods finally ended the series’ home run drought, sending one over the right field wall to give the Terps a 2-1 lead. However, Penn State quickly responded, plating three runs in the same inning to retake the lead. 

In the sixth, the Terps would tie the game with a clutch home run to left field off the bat of Elijah Lambros, scoring Woods once again. This time, they wouldn’t surrender any runs. 

In the eighth, Jacob Orr delivered a clutch one-out triple that was two feet away from being a home run. Despite that, the Terps used the fuel to muster three runs, with clutch hits to the outfield from Kevin Keister and Lorusso to give the lead back to the Terps – a lead they would not let go of. 

On the defensive side, the Terps overcame four errors in route to victory, mostly thanks to the work of the bullpen. Andrew Johnson, Kenny Lippman, and David Falco Jr. all shined in relief of Ryan Van Buren. The three completely shut out the Penn State offense for the final 5.1 innings. Lippman earned the win, finishing the season 7-1, while Falco earned the save, his ninth of the season. 

The Terps finish the season with a 37-19 record, with a 17-7 record in conference play. On Tuesday, they begin their quest to earn the official Big Ten title in Omaha, looking for a reprieve from last season’s disappointing end.

Hopes were very high for the Dirty Terps on Saturday. 

Following the Terps’ wild come-from-behind victory and a loss from the Indiana Hoosiers on Friday night, Maryland earned the chance to clinch a share of the Big Ten title if they achieved a victory over Penn State on Saturday. 

Unfortunately for the Terps, the Nittany Lions played spoiler, erasing a nine-game losing streak by coming out on top, 5-3. 

Because of victories from the Terps and the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday night, what started as a six-team race for the Big Ten title quickly reduced to three, as Nebraska, Rutgers, and Michigan were eliminated. Entering Sunday, only the Terps, Hoosiers, and Hawkeyes remain. The winner will be anointed tomorrow depending on the outcome of the three games.

The Terps came into the game with a lot of energy, as they found themselves in the driver’s seat of the conference with their ace, Jason Savacool, set to take the mound. However, Savacool struggled and Maryland’s bats were unable to do enough to get the Terps over the hump. 

The Nittany Lions attacked Savacool early, getting four hits and bringing two runs across within the first two frames. He finished the day with a staggering 114 pitches thrown, surrendering four earned runs over six innings pitched. He also had six strikeouts to five walks. 

On the offensive side, Nick Lorusso and Ian Petrutz shined. Lorusso finished the day three for four with an RBI while Petrutz put up an RBI triple which gave the Terps the lead in the top of the fifth. Outside of that, however, the Terps offense was not able to generate much. 

Despite the lack of production, the squad was getting the bat on the ball all game long, with a lot of hard contact and long flyouts. Many speculate that many of their hits would have had the chance to leave the yard had they been in College Park, but at Penn State’s larger stadium, they were unable to find much luck. 

The Terps will be back in action tomorrow afternoon for the third game in State College, hoping for a better result and the chance to earn their second consecutive Big Ten title. The game is currently scheduled for noon, but poor weather is expected to knock back first pitch.

Down to their final out with the bases loaded and Big Ten title implications on the line, Maryland trailed by a run with their program’s career and single-season RBI record holder, Nick Lorusso, at the plate. As he’s done time and time again, the senior third baseman delivered when the Terps needed it the most. He lined a two-run single through the left side, his nation-leading 91st and 92nd RBIs, to give the Terps a lead that they would hold onto after a miraculous late-inning comeback. No. 20 Maryland defeated Penn State by a final of 17-15 in their series opener at Lubrano Park.

Maryland got on the board first in the top of the second with a two-RBI single from Elijah Lambros. Two batters later, Kevin Keister hit a ground ball to the left side that appeared to be an inning-ending double play, but an errant throw to first allowed Lambros to score to give the Terps a 3-0 lead.

The bottom half of the inning, however, was nothing short of a disaster for the Terps. The first five Nittany Lions to bat in the inning each reached base, three of them on singles, and two on errors. Nick Dean got a strikeout with the bases loaded for the first out of the inning, but hit the next batter to bring in the tying run. Johnny Piacentino followed with a sacrifice fly to give Penn State a 4-3 lead. 

Maryland appeared to have stopped the bleeding when Grant Norris hit a ground ball to Matt Shaw and was originally called out at first by the first base umpire, but the home plate umpire overruled the call as Eddie Hacopian’s foot came off the bag. It became Maryland’s third error of the inning, scoring a run and keeping the inning alive. In the next at-bat, Bobby Marsh lined a two-run double down the right field line to add insult to injury. Dean ended the inning with a strikeout, but not before the Nittany Lions plated seven runs on just four hits. 

As always, the Maryland offense responded. Matt Woods led off the fourth inning with a single and would come all the way around to score after Lambros singled and the throw to third base got away. Jacob Orr followed with another single to drive in Lambros to make it 7-5. Later in the inning, Orr scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt Shaw that barely fell short of a three-run homer to center field. The Terps scored three runs on four hits in the inning to get back within a run.

Maryland had a golden opportunity to tie or take the lead in the top of the fifth, as they had runners on the corners with no outs, but Matt Woods would hit into a double play and after Lambros walked, Orr lined out to end the inning.

Dean’s day would end in the fifth inning after a Kyle Hannon sacrifice fly pushed the Penn State lead to 8-6. The senior right-hander exited after 4 ⅓ innings of work, allowing eight runs, just two of them earned, on seven hits with five strikeouts and zero walks. 

The Terps had another scoring opportunity in the sixth, but once again were unable to capitalize. Keister and Shaw singled, and Ian Petrutz was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs, but Hacopian flew out to left field to squander the threat.

Penn State broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth with another huge inning helped by defensive miscues. After a leadoff walk, Keister was unable to field a potential double play ball cleanly, and the Nittany Lions had runners on the corners with no outs. Piacentino cashed in with an RBI single and Norris followed with a two-run triple into the left center field gap to extend the Penn State lead to 11-6. Logan Ott would come in for Kenny Lippman, but it wouldn’t stop the home team’s bats. The Nittany Lions pushed two more runs across, making it five in the inning and giving them a seven-run advantage.

Maryland still refused to go away, however, as the offense got them right back into the game in the seventh. Penn State pitchers had trouble finding the zone in the inning. After Lambros walked and Orr was hit by a pitch, Keister drove both of them in with a double in the gap. Luke Shliger and Shaw both drew walks in front of Nick Lorusso, who lined a single into right field to bring home a run to make it 13-9. Penn State brought in left-hander Jordan Morales to face Petrutz, who hit a sacrifice fly to right field. The Terps would score two more runs with two outs on an RBI single by Hacopian and a bases-loaded walk by Lambros to make it a one-run game. Orr nearly gave Maryland the lead, but Morales made a nice catch on the mound on a hard liner back up the middle to finally end the frame.

Nigel Belgrave came on for the bottom of the inning and had trouble finding the strike zone; he issued three walks and allowed a hit while recording just one out. David Falco Jr. entered a bases-loaded jam and induced two soft grounders to limit the damage, but the Nittany Lions still pushed two runs across to extend their lead to 15-12.

After neither team scored in the eighth, the Maryland offense, which entered Thursday second in Division I in runs scored, came through once again. The Terps loaded the bases with one out for Keister, who hit a sacrifice fly to get Maryland within two. Shliger followed with a double down the left field line, scoring Woods and putting the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. After Shaw was intentionally walked to load the bases, Lorusso found the hole on the left side to bring in two runs. After entering the seventh inning trailing by seven runs, the Terps had the lead in the ninth. Petrutz added an insurance run with an RBI single of his own, and Maryland took a 17-15 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Falco Jr. allowed a one-out double, but struck out the next two batters to seal the victory.

Every player in the Maryland lineup had at least two hits. With the win, the Terps improve to 36-18, and 16-6 in Big Ten play. They’ll look to clinch their 23rd straight Big Ten series win tomorrow at 5 p.m.

Looking to win their 22nd consecutive BigTen series, the Maryland Terrapins needed a win today coming into the rubber match against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. With great hitting all throughout the game, the Terps used a dominant seven-run inning en route to a 15-9 win.

Unlike the first two games of the series, neither team scored until the bottom of the second inning when Matt Woods homered to deep right-center field. The two-run blast was Maryland’s only score of the game until the bottom of the fifth.

Ryan Van Buren started the game for Maryland and pitched two scoreless innings before Minnesota was able to score one on a fielder’s choice to cut the lead 2-1. That would do it for Van Buren as Kenny Lippman came in immediately after to relieve him. Despite working the bases loaded, Lippman was able to work out of the jam unscathed.

After a scoreless fourth inning, the Golden Gophers got the bats hot to start the fifth. After back-to-back infield singles from Brett Bateman and Boston Merila, Minnesota loaded the bases after Brady Counsell reached on a Nick Lorusso error that scored a run. From then on it was a walk party. Three straight walks resulted in two runs for the Golden Gophers to give them the lead at 4-2. 

At that point, head coach Rob Vaughn decided to pull Van Buren in favor of Logan Ott. He walked one more home before a pop-out ended the inning, but the damage was done as Minnesota took a 5-2 lead.

Maryland started the fifth with some hope after Jacob Orr and Luke Shliger reached on singles. Up stepped Matt Shaw. The consensus future first-round MLB draft pick sent a towering no-doubt three-run blast to tie the game at 5-5. As a result, Minnesota pulled their starter Ritchie Holetz for two-way player Kris Hokenson who immediately gave up a double to Ian Petrutz. Shortly after, Eddie Hacopian brought Petrutz home on a single to take back the lead.

However, it did not last for long. After Ott hit Bateman to start the sixth, Ike Mezzenga sent a two-run homer out of the Bob to give Minnesota back the lead at 7-6.

Quickly getting two on base in the bottom half of the inning, Shaw tied the game after his single scored Orr. Minnesota pulled Hokenson for Seth Clausen. The Terps managed to rip Clausen for two runs after two RBIs singles from Lorusso and Petrutz to take the lead and extend it to 9-7.

From there, the bats only got hotter. Maryland tacked on four more when Elijah Lambros was walked home, Orr lined a two-RBI single to left, and Kevin Keister added on one more on a single to right field to make it 13-7.

After coming on to relieve Ott, David Falco Jr. went to work quickly. Through two innings of work, he did not allow a run or walk and gave up just one hit. However, he got into a little trouble in the ninth. After a quick Weber Neels home run and three singles in a row that scored another run, runners were on the corners with two outs. A quick hopper over to Keister ended the rally.

Maryland will now face Penn State next weekend to determine their seeding for the BigTen Tournament ahead of another run in the NCAA tournament later this month.

After dropping game one on Friday against Minnesota, the Maryland Terrapins looked to right the ship and keep their bid alive for 22 straight conference series wins. The Terps allowed four home runs to a Minnesota team that had only hit 25 on the season coming into Friday’s game. Jason Savacool was on the bump and looked to prevent the long ball bug from striking again.

Thanks to a great outing from Savacool and even better hitting, the Terps were able to take game two from the Golden Gophers, forcing a rubber match on Sunday. Out-homered yesterday, Maryland cranked three out of the park en route to a dominant 14-5 win at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium on Saturday.

Just as they did in game one, the Golden Gophers were held scoreless in the top of the first and the Terps struck quickly in the bottom half of the inning. After a two-out Nick Lorusso walk, Eddie Hacopian lined a single into shallow center field for the first hit and run of the game as Lorusso scored.

A pair of double plays kept both teams scoreless until the bottom of the third. Matt Shaw reached first on an errant throw and quickly advanced to second on a wild pitch. Two pitches later, Lorusso sent Shaw home on another RBI single. With it, Lorusso became Maryland’s all-time leader in RBIs. Later in the inning, an Elijah Lambros single scored Hacopian and Ian Petrutz.

Not wanting the game to get away early, Minnesota responded with an Ike Mezzenga solo home run, but the Terps responded quickly. With Luke Shliger and Kevin Keister on base, Shaw crushed a no-doubt three-run homer to break the game open at 7-1. With three RBIs on that swing, Shaw tied Lorusso for the all-time record set just the inning prior. That ended the day for Minnesota’s George Klassen. Matt Woods immediately welcomed new pitcher Sam Malec to the game with a quick two-run blast to extend the Terps’ lead to 9-1.

Maryland starter Jason Savacool, who had some shaky starts in his most recent appearances, was crucial in the early half of the game. Through five innings of work, Savacool allowed five hits with just one earned run and six strikeouts.

The runs continued to pile on for the Terps as they put up five runs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to Woods’ second home run of the game, a three-run blast. Lorusso had an RBI and took back the all-time crown.

Minnesota was able to get two back after a multitude of fielding and throwing errors by the Terrapin infield, but the Gophers left two on and the lead stayed at 14-3.

After allowing two baserunners and with his pitch count over 100, Savacool was replaced by Andrew Johnson. Both teams went scoreless from that point on until Minnesota was able to score again on another Maryland error in the top of the eighth.

Up by 10 in the top of the ninth, Caleb Estes, the infielder, came on in relief of Andrew Johnson. After allowing a quick single and a run later, Estes and the Terps hung on for the win 14-5.

Back in the top spot in the Big Ten, the No. 19 Maryland Terrapins (33-17) welcomed the Minnesota Golden Gophers (14-31) to College Park, looking to gain space between them and second-place Indiana.

In a game that felt like a home-run derby at times, Maryland got a taste of its own long ball medicine. Minnesota came into the game having only hit 25 home runs the entire season, but they ripped four off of Terrapin pitchers en route to a 10-7 win vs the Terrapins.

After Nick Dean sat the first three Minnesota batters down in order, the Terps quickly got to work. After a Matt Shaw Hustle double, Nick Lorusso crushed a ball deep over the left-center field wall to put the Terps up early 2-0.

Dean, who had a stellar first inning, quickly found himself in trouble to start the second after he loaded the bases with a walk and back-to-back singles. He was able to get back in control after striking out the next two batters he faced. However, on a full count with the bases loaded and two outs, Riley Swenson smacked a bases-clearing three-run double down the left field line to put Minnesota on top, 3-2.

Both teams went scoreless for the next inning and a half, but not for lack of getting on base. In the top of the third, Minnesota left two stranded while Maryland followed suit in the bottom half of the inning leaving Lorusso on first after a four-pitch walk.

After giving up three runs in the second, Dean found his groove in the top of the fourth with back-to-back strikeouts. Minnesota, not wanting to go down in order, ripped Dean for two home runs to extend their lead. Swenson, who was responsible for Minnesota’s first three runs, launched a solo shot followed by a Boston Merila two-run blast to put the Golden Gophers up 6-2.

Determined not to go quietly, Kevin Keister brought the game back within one after he slapped a three-run homer over the wall. Not to be outdone, Shaw hit a two-run shot of his own moments later to give the Terps back the lead at 7-6.

After four shaky innings, Nate Haberthier came into the game in relief of Dean. The game started to look like batting practice after Minnesota’s Weber Neels hit the sixth home run of the game, a solo shot, to tie the game at 7-7. Two batters later, Kris Hokenson poked one of his own out of the park for a two-run homer to give Minnesota back the lead. That would do it for Haberthier as Nigel Belgrave was called into relief.

Both teams would go scoreless for the next three innings as Maryland’s Belgrave and Minnesota’s Connor Wietgrefe allowed just two total hits in their relief outings through the top of the eighth. After allowing back-to-back walks with no outs, head coach Robert Vaughn decided to go to the bullpen for David Falco Jr.

Looking for some insurance in the top of the eight, Brady Counsell doubled down the third base line just beyond the outstretched glove of Lorusso. The hit scored Hokenson and moved Merila to third, but that was all the Golden Gophers could get. 

Down to their last six outs, Maryland went down without a fight to end the eighth inning, still trailing by three. Falco allowed two walks in the ninth but was able to work out of the jam unscathed.

After Jacob Orr popped out to start the bottom of the ninth, Keister roped a single into the outfield to try and start a rally. However, Luke Shliger and Shaw both struck out to end the game.

With the loss, Maryland drops their last two games, something they have not done since last month when they lost to Rutgers and Georgetown. Maryland drops to 33-18 and Minnesota improves to 15-31.

A combination of bad pitching and slow offense put the Terps in an early hole that they could not get out of as Maryland loses to Northeastern, 9-2.

Northeastern did not wait to get on the board. Leadoff man Mike Sirota started it with a base hit to right followed by a two-run homer for Tyler MacGregor. Maryland pitcher Kenny Lippman locked in from there, striking out the next two batters and getting a flyout to end the inning.

Lippman struck out the side in the second but made another mistake in the third after allowing another two-run home run. This blast was courtesy of Sirota and extended the Northeastern lead to 4-0.

After allowing the homer, Lippman got himself in another jam after walking the next two batters with no outs. He was able to lock in again and collected two more strikeouts to keep the Northeastern lead at four. This would be the end of the day for the right-handed pitcher.

The Huskies continued to add to their lead after a sacrifice fly in the fourth, putting the Terps in a 5-0 hole.

The Maryland offense was ice-cold to start the game. After three innings they had just one hit and one walk. Northeastern pitcher Luke Gigliotti was impressive through the first three but was surprisingly taken out in the fourth. This decision would immediately be in question after Matt Shaw hit a double and was brought home by an Ian Petrutz single, making it 5-1.

The momentum was immediately killed in the top of the fifth when MacGregor hit his second home run of the day. The game started to get ugly from there. The Huskies made it an 8-1 ballgame after a run scored on an error from Nick Lorusso and another on a wild pitch.

Maryland tried to build some more momentum in the fifth when a Luke Shliger RBI single cut the lead to six. However, neither offense did too much after this with a scoreless sixth, seventh, and eighth.

MacGregor added more insurance to lead off the ninth when he hit his third home run of the game. This was his 15th long ball of the season and would be the nail in the coffin.

The loss drops the Terps to 33-17 with only two more series left in the regular season. They will continue their homestand this weekend with a matchup against the struggling Minnesota Golden Gophers.