The Maryland Terrapins baseball program has arrived. On Sunday, with a 4-0 win over Iowa, The Terrapins claimed its first conference tournament championship, winning the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha.
Maryland never won the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament despite being in the league from 1953 through 2013. Maryland joined the Big Ten in 2014 and reached the tournament championship game in 2015, yet, the Terps never took home a tournament title.
However, the program has taken a step forward in recent years under head coach Rob Vaughn. Maryland won the Big Ten regular-season title for the second consecutive year. The Terps entered this year’s tournament the No. 1 seed and walked through the bracket without a loss entering Sunday’s championship game.
Iowa was also undefeated this week in the tournament, and the two teams became locked into a pitcher’s duel through the first four innings. The fifth inning is when Maryland’s bats made a surge.
After a lead-off walk by outfielder Jacob Orr, second baseman Kevin Keister belted a two-run homer off Iowa pitcher Jake Whitlock, breaking the scoreless game open.
Three batters later, Nick Lorusso gave Maryland its second home run of the inning. Lorusso’s shot cleared the left field wall, extending Maryland’s lead to 3-0.
Lorusso was named the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player with two home runs, including a walk-off his dramatic extra-inning walk-off on Thursday against Nebraska. Orr added an RBI single in the sixth, extending the Terps’ lead to four.
Maryland’s bullpen closed the door the rest of the way. Terps reliever David Falco Jr. came in with one out in the seventh with a runner on. However, the Maryland defense turned a pivotal 3-6 double play to get out of the inning.
Falco got the final seven outs of the game for Maryland. Another double play finished the game and gave the tournament to the Terrapins.
Now, Maryland is guaranteed to make it’s third straight appearance in NCAA Tournament. Last year’s run ended in controversial fashion. The Terps will await learning who their opponents will be during Monday’s selection show.
