Maryland baseball tumbles against No. 9 Virginia in 8 innings, 16-6

Maryland baseball only trailed No. 9 Virginia by one run after the top of the eighth inning. Twice during the game, the Terps led the Cavaliers.

But Maryland’s gameplay was spoiled by faulty pitching and superb hitting from the Cavaliers in the bottom of the inning. Virginia managed to bank nine runs and trigger the run rule to end the game early, 16-6. Maryland held its own for the first half of the game.

After holding Virginia scoreless through the first inning and only allowing one run in the second, freshman shortstop Ty Kaunas singled to center field for his 17th career RBI in the bottom of the third inning. Ryan Costello doubled to left field to bring Brayden Martin home, and Kaunas made it to home plate on a passed ball. All of a sudden, Maryland was up by two runs as the teams changed sides.

Virginia did bite back though, banking three RBIs of their own to retake the lead. Nevertheless, the Terps kept it close, trading runs with the Cavaliers in the fourth inning and escaping the fifth by allowing only one hit. In the top of the sixth inning, center fielder Aden Hill logged his first hit of the day — a double down the left field line.