If you love offense, Tuesday afternoon at Brooks Robinson Field was your kind of baseball. The Maryland Terrapins put on a hitting clinic, demolishing Towson 23-11 in a wild eight-inning affair that set a new season high for runs. It was the kind of game that makes you want to grab your bat and head straight to the cage.
The Terps came out swinging—and walking. Already leading the Big Ten in free passes with 294 entering the game, Maryland’s patience at the plate was on full display. A quarter of their runs came via walks, proving that sometimes the best swing is no swing at all.
The fireworks started early. After two quick groundouts in the top of the first, redshirt freshman Ryan Costello and junior David Mendez drew walks, and sophomore Paul Jones II took a pitch to the arm to load the bases. That brought up freshman Bud Coombs, who launched his fifth home run of the season over the right-field fence for his first career grand slam. Welcome to the big leagues, kid.
If the first inning was impressive, the second was downright explosive. Three straight walks to open the frame chased Towson starter Jake Michel from the game. Left-hander Vincent Salvo came in and needed just four pitches to face Costello—who promptly crushed his 15th homer of the season and his fourth grand slam. Three pitches later, Mendez went back-to-back with his ninth dinger of the year. Just like that, Maryland had a 10-run lead.
But Towson wasn't about to roll over. The Tigers answered with a five-run second inning of their own, highlighted by Max D'Alessandro stealing second and scoring on a wild pitch, followed by a string of hits that cut the deficit in half. Sophomore right-hander Ryan Bailey eventually came in to stop the bleeding, but the message was clear: this game was far from over.
The runs kept coming in waves, with both teams trading blows like heavyweight fighters. Maryland's offense proved too deep and too patient, ultimately securing the emphatic victory in eight innings. For the Terps, it was a statement game—one that showed their lineup can beat you with power, patience, or both.