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Next game:
against George Mason
04.06.2023 | 14 o’clock
04 June (Sun) / 2 p.m
against George Mason
WINSTON-SALEM, NC – After a weather delay of four hours and 45 minutes, No. 19 Maryland lost to No. 1-seeded Wake Forest (21-6) in a game that started at 10:45 p.m. and ended at 2:45 p.m. on Saturday: 06 o’clock on Sunday morning. The Terps (42-20) will face George Mason in an elimination match at 2 p.m. Sunday at Couch Ballpark. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Maryland Baseball Network.
The game was originally scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. and eventually started at 10:45 p.m. after lightning and thunderstorms ravaged the area.
Wake Forest (49-10) took an early lead and opened the contest with four runs in the first inning. From there, the nation’s top-ranked team secured their five-inning, multiple-run lead with the Demon Deacons adding two runs in the third, then three runs in the fifth, and adding six more runs each in the seventh and eighth. Five Demon Deacons had multi-hit games led by Pierce Bennett and Justin Johnson, totaling eight outing hits and nine RBI combined.
Two-time ACC Pitcher of the Year Wake Forest starter Rhett Lowder improved to 14-0. He held out a Maryland baserunner for 3.2 innings and knocked out 11 in six innings.
For Maryland, Nick Lorusso continued his stellar season by hitting his 25th and 26th home runs of the season, surpassing Chris Alleyne (24 in 2022) for most single-season home runs in program history. He finished the contest 2-on-4 at the plate with three RBI.
Other influential terps included Ian Petrutz, who doubled Maryland’s runs total in game eight with a three-run clear home run for his 14th run in 2023. At the head of the lineup, Luke Shliger kept his reached-base stretch alive and stretched it out in 60 games with a walk in the eighth.
Break down the action
- Wake Forest hit four runs in the first inning with an RBI single from Brock Wilken, a runs-scoring double from Johnson and a two-run single from Bennett to take a 4-0 lead.
- The Demon Deacons added two more runs late in the third period for a 6-0 contest thanks to a Johnson RBI triple and a Bennett RBI double.
- Lorusso hit a runback in the third inning and hit a solo home run down center right to put Maryland on the field and cut the deficit to 6-1.
- With an RBI single from Danny Corona and a two-run knock from Marek Houston, Wake Forest added three more runs in the fifth inning to extend their lead to 9-1.
- Lorusso started his second home run of the ballgame by taking Matt Shaw with a two-run shot to make it 9-3 in the seventh inning.
- Wake Forest continued to extend their lead in the seventh round, driving six runs to extend the 15-3 lead.
- Petrutz hit a three-run throw in the eighth inning that left the Terps 15-6 behind.
- The Demon Deacons added another six runs in the eighth round to extend their lead to 21-6.
Through the numbers
- 4: Lorusso’s pair of jacks led to his fourth multi-home run game of the season.
- 14: Petrutz scored his 14th big shot of the season to finish third on the roster with Elijah Lambros.
- 26: With home runs in the third and seventh frames, Lorusso broke the single-season Maryland home run record set by Chris Alleyne in 2022.
- 29: Lorusso scored his 29th multi-hit contest in 2023.
- 60: Shliger’s record-breaking reached base streak spanned 60 games in the eighth inning.
- 104: Lorusso increased his national-leading RBI total with one run, increasing his tally to 104 RBI for the season. He is the first DI player with 100 RBI in a season since Billy Becher had 118 RBI with New Mexico State in 2003.
- 174: Lorusso continued to extend his program RBI record by driving a career 174th RBI at College Park.
Next
- The Terps will face George Mason in an elimination match at 2:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Maryland Baseball Network.