COLLEGE PARK, Md. – After trailing by as many as seven runs through the first four innings of play, the Navy baseball team (18-23, 9-13 Patriot League) rallied with three runs in the fifth and another four in the sixth to tie #23 Maryland (33-8, 9-3 Big Ten) at 9-9. However, the Terps scored nine runs on nine hits over the final three innings to secure an 18-10 victory over the Mids Tuesday Night at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium.
"I thought our approaches all night were good," said head coach
Paul Kostacopoulos on the 10-run, 10-hit effort of the Navy offense. "I think we did a good job, sometimes that's what you want to see before a big series. Guys were on the ball again, I thought we did a good job of that on Sunday against Army and then again tonight. That's always a good sign. Obviously, you don't want to give up 18 runs, but at the same time we gained something out of this."
Eduardo Diaz (So., Miami, Fla.) paced the Navy offense, going 2-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs, while
Christian Policelli (Sr., Walkersville, Md.) added his third home run of the season in a 1-for-5 showing with a run scored and three RBIs.
Logan Keller (So., Longwood, Fla.) rounded out the top-offensive performers for the Mids on Tuesday night, going 1-for-4 with two RBIs.
"Eddie (Diaz) played an outstanding game, both offensively and defensively," said Kostacopoulos on the sophomore shortstop. "We are starting to see some of those things come out more and more often from him. He has been very good for us and is seeing the ball really well, he's swinging at strikes and not chasing things. It shows up when he is putting a good swing on it, our offense has been much better over the last couple of weeks and he's a big part of it."
On the mound, the Midshipmen used seven pitchers against Maryland, with
Colin Smith (Jr., Wilmington, Del.) taking the loss (1-1) after allowing five runs on four hits over 1.2 innings of work.
Landon Kruer (Fr., Sellersburg, Ind.) highlighted the Navy pitching effort, as the freshman worked out of a runner on first and third, two-out jam in the sixth.
The Mids struck quickly to start Tuesday's contest, thanks in part to a pair of miscues by the Maryland defense. Following a
Zane Raba (So., San Antonio, Texas) single to left and
Colin Smith reaching on a throwing error, Keller ripped a two-run single through the left side that gave Navy an early 2-0 advantage.
However, the Terps rallied with a response of their own in the bottom of the frame with the help of a defensive miscue by the Midshipmen. Following a leadoff walk by starting pitcher
Reece Early (Jr., Reistertown, Md.) Chris Alleyne lined a single to center that was misplayed and rolled all the way to the wall. The misplay allowed the runner from first to score and Alleyne to advance to third. Alleyne would score two batters later on a groundout, tying the game at 2-2.
Following its comeback to tie the game in the bottom of the first, Maryland scored another seven runs on six hits over the next two innings to take a commanding 9-2 lead into the fifth.
Down by seven runs entering the top of the fifth, the Midshipmen offense came back to life with a rally of its own, scoring three runs on three hits in the frame. The highlight of the inning came off the bat of Policelli, as the senior launched a towering home run over the left-field wall for his third long fly of the season that cut the Terps' advantage to 9-5.
The comeback effort continued for Navy in the sixth, as it scored another four runs on three hits that erased the UM lead and tied the game at 9-9. The Mids batted around in the inning, which began with a Diaz solo home run that sparked the four-run rally. Raba worked a bases-loaded walk to bring home a run, followed by a
Colin Smith sacrifice fly and an RBI single by
Alex Smith (Jr., Laguna Hills, Calif.) capping off the rally to tie the contest.
Despite its valiant bid for an upset, the Navy comeback attempt would fall short as Maryland responded with nine runs over the next three innings to take an 18-9 lead. The outburst by the Terps' offense included four of their nine hits being home runs, along with two of the remaining five hits going for extra bases.
Diaz recorded his second home run of the day in the ninth, securing the first multi-home run effort of his career, but that would prove to be the lone score in the inning for the Mids as reliever Matt Orlando worked around a
Zach Stevens (Sr., Lexington, Mass.) double to secure an 18-10 victory for the Terps.
Alleyne paced an 18-run, 16-hit effort by the Maryland lineup that included six home runs on the night, as the senior went 4-for-5 with a walk, two home runs, four runs scored and a game-high six RBIs. Matt Shaw added a 2-for-5 showing at the plate that included a home run, two runs scored and four RBIs.
On the mound, Maryland used seven pitchers on the night, including Sean Heine (2-1) who picked up his second win of the season after allowing just one hit in his inning of work. Nick Robinson proved to be the Terps' most effective reliever, holding the Navy offense hitless over his two innings of work.
UP NEXT
Navy will now turn its attention back to Patriot League play, as it welcomes Lafayette to Max Bishop Stadium for a three-game series. The set will feature a doubleheader on Saturday and a single, nine-inning game on Sunday, with first pitch on Saturday and Sunday scheduled for 1 p.m.
