Maryland baseball suffered a crushing 13-3 defeat to Penn State in a seven-inning game Thursday night, marking their 10th loss in a conference series opener. The Terps, who had scored their third-most runs of the season just two days earlier against Georgetown, struggled to find any offensive rhythm at Bob Thursday night. With this loss, Maryland now faces the very real possibility of finishing with their worst conference record since joining the Big Ten.

The game got off to a rocky start for the Terps. Starting pitcher James Gladden walked the first two batters he faced, then threw a wild pitch that set the stage for Penn State's early offensive surge. A sacrifice fly and an error by shortstop Ty Kaunas allowed the Nittany Lions to take an early lead in the first inning. The only bright spot in the early innings came in the top of the second, when Gladden recorded his only strikeout of the game, and a sliding catch by redshirt junior Jordan Crosland helped retire the side. Unfortunately, that would be one of the few times Penn State failed to score.

Maryland finally got on the board in the bottom of the second inning when sophomore Paul Jones II singled to right center, driving in his 12th RBI in just 48 hours—following up his impressive 11-RBI performance against Georgetown on Tuesday. The Terps then loaded the bases with two outs, but Brayden Martin grounded out to Penn State shortstop Preston Yaucher, leaving three runners stranded. Head coach Matt Swope noted the missed opportunity: "We needed somebody to come through there early on and keep it going and keep it close, and we didn't do that."

Gladden, making his first start with the Terps, pitched just two innings, allowing three walks and striking out one before being replaced by junior left-hander Landon Edwards. Swope acknowledged the team's struggles, saying, "We're just trying to piece together the game." With the season winding down, Maryland will need to regroup quickly to avoid a historically poor finish in Big Ten play.