The Maryland Terrapins baseball team dropped a 4-2 decision to the nation’s top seed the UCLA Bruins on UCLA’s home field Sunday night setting up a win or go home game Monday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Terps are trying to advance to the Super Regional for the second consecutive season and UCLA is looking to avoid becoming the fourth number one seed since 1999 to fail to make it out of its region.
Opportunities missed and opportunities taken
Although they left nine runners on base, UCLA did what Maryland failed to do. They capitalized on just enough of their scoring chances to then use their pitching prowess to deny the Terps a win and survive for at least one more game.
The Terps had an opportunity to change the course of the game in their first at bat. Brandon Lowe drew a two out walk and Kevin Martir bounced a ball down the third base line that fooled UCLA third baseman Chris Keck. Martir was credited with a double putting runners on second and third with two out.
Jose Cuas pulled 1-0 pitch down the left field line that landed a foot or so foul. Had it stayed fair, the Terps would have jumped to at least an early 2-0 lead and the game’s complexion would have completely altered. Cuas eventually fouled out to deep left and the Terps stranded a pair.
The Bruins carried the momentum of that stop into their first at bat putting solo runs on the board in each of the first three innings to take a lead they would never relinquish. In each of those at bats, the home team got a single to start their inning. In two of the three innings they successfully executed sacrifice bunts and they twice got crucial two out hits.
Wade continues his hot play
While Maryland’s pitching has been solid through three games, LaMonte Wade has been the unquestioned star of the series thus far for the Terps both in the field and at the plate. The junior got the Terps on the board in the top of the third with a massive blast through the thick California air for his second home run of the series.
He was also right in the middle of Maryland’s only other run as well. With the Terps trailing 3-1, Tim Lewis led off the fifth with a single and moved to second on Kevin Biondic’s sacrifice bunt. Wade then went with an outside pitch and punched a single through the left side that put runners on the corners. Lewis then scored on Kevin Smith’s sacrifice bunt that also moved Wade to second where he was stranded when Lowe popped out to short.
Opportunities missed and opportunities taken the sequel
Maryland had a chance to tie the score in the top of the sixth. With one out, Cuas fought off a couple of pitches before lifting a fly to right that hit about halfway up the fence. For the second time in the game, the Terps’ third baseman missed a key RBI by a matter of a few feet having to settle for his 12th double of the season rather than his 12th home run.
Nick Cieri lofted a fly ball to near the warning track in left center on the first pitch he saw from reliever Tucker Forbes. Cuas, recognizing that Ty Moore is not a natural left fielder, tagged and advanced to third. On the sort of ball that was finding holes for UCLA, Anthony Papio made solid contact smacking a one hop line drive just to the first base side of second but Bruins’ second baseman Brent Chatterton made the play for the final out of the inning stranding Cuas atthird.
An inning later, UCLA also got a one out double when Moore roped a double to the fence in left center. After Alex Robinson struck out Luke Persico for the second out, Moore broke for third on a 2-2 pitch. Martir’s throw one hopped Cuas and the third baseman failed to clock the ball. Moore came around to score as the ball caromed into shallow left providing the Bruins with an important insurance run.
The Terps would have one last opportunity in the eighth. With one out, Lowe reached on an error and Martir singled to center putting the tying run on base and bringing the potential go ahead run to the plate. However, Cuas popped out to second and Nick Cieri hit a grounder to third that forced Lowe ending the inning.
David Berg, the closer in the three headed monster that is the UCLA late game bullpen who had come on to start the eighth and escaped the two on one out jam, retired the Terps in order in the ninth. The six out save is the senior’s 13th of the season.
The loss was Maryland’s first in an NCAA Regional after five straight wins under John Czefc. The Terps swept three games in South Carolina in 2014 and won the first two this season. The question hanging over the game is whether the Terps can bounce back from the loss or whether the Bruins can ride the momentum of two Saturday wins, their home field and the deepest pitching staff in the NCAA to the Super Regional.
The opportunity comes tonight when will meet for the chance to advance in an 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time start. The winner will face 2014 College World Series finalist Virginia who closed out their region with a 14-10 over Southern California Sunday night. For one team, Monday’s game will be an opportunity taken. For the other, an opportunity missed.
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