Maryland holds off UConn in 11 innings to force winner-take-all game in NCAA baseball regional
Maryland pushed across a run in the 11th inning to beat UConn 7-6 on Sunday night and force a one-game showdown at the NCAA baseball regional in College Park, Md.
The Terrapins, host and No. 1 seed, and UConn, the No. 3 seed, will play again Monday at a time to be determined to decide which team advances to the Super Regional, a three-game series against the winner of the regional at Stanford.
The Huskies (48-14) rallied from 4-0 and 6-4 deficits to send the game to extra innings, as Devin Kirby, their most effective reliever during the latter stages of the season, pitched impressively for 4 1/2 innings.
Kirby, who threw 69 pitches, excited after allowing back-to-back singles with one out in the 11th. Maryland’s Nick Lorusso, who had homered in the fifth inning, singled off Jack Sullivan to drive in the winning run.
After losing to UConn on Saturday, Maryland had to win twice Sunday to stay alive. The Terps defeated Wake Forest 10-5 earlier in the day to earn a rematch with the Huskies.
UConn is trying to reach the Super Regional for the first time since 2011, and the College World Series for the first time since 1979.
Maryland scored three in the first, the last two on a homer by Troy Schreffler Jr. UConn starter Enzo Stefanoni lasted 3 2/3 innings, then Garret Coe took over and gave up a solo homer to Lorusso in the fifth inning, making it 4-0
The Huskies, held scoreless by Terrapins starter Nick Robinson the first five innings, pieced together a tying rally against three Maryland relivers in the sixth. UConn got only two hits, singles by Korey Morton and T.C. Simmons, but used two walks, a hit batsman and two wild pitches and a steal to push the runners over and in. David Smith’s fielder’s choice drove in the tying run.
Maryland regained the lead with two runs in the bottom of the seventh, after Chris Alleyne’s lead-off double off Coe, on RBI singles by Matt Shaw and Maxwell Costes off Kirby. But UConn tied it again in the eighth, as Smith tripled home a run and scored on a wild pitch.
Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com.
