Maryland’s Benjamin Cowles (1) celebrates his three-run homer with teammate Luke Shliger in front of Nebraska catcher Luke Roskam (25) in the fifth inning Saturday at Haymarket Park. Cowles' homer tied the game at 5-5.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Nebraska’s Cam Chick steals third base as the throw from Maryland catcher Justin Vought gets past the Terps' third baseman, allowing Chick to score in a game last season.
"After a loss, people handle it different. Some people get really pissed off, some people get quiet. However people handle it is fine," senior outfielder Jaxon Hallmark said. "What’s important is they don’t linger on it overnight, they don’t wake up still mad, they’re not still sad we lost.
"They wake up tomorrow, it’s a new day, the sun comes up, we get to play baseball again. That’s what’s important is that they show up ready to go tomorrow."
The largest crowd of the season — 3,197 sun-splashed fans — watched a familiar scene unfold as the Huskers (14-6) built a 5-1 lead in much the same way they've had success most of the year. There were four hits, a sac bunt, a sac fly, and a double steal that lead to another run during a five-run third inning that gave NU the type of cushion that has often been enough this season.
But Maryland hit three home runs — a solo, a two-run and a three-run — to erase the Nebraska advantage. A three-run shot from Benjamin Cowles, his league-leading 10th of the season, was the last of five consecutive Terrapin hits in a four-run fifth that tied the game.Â
After NU went back in front on Max Anderson's solo shot in the bottom of the sixth, Maryland (10-11) scored three in the seventh on a pair of homers, then added two insurance runs in the ninth when a hit batter and two walks loaded the bases and wild pitch led to a throwing error at the plate.Â
Nebraska pitching had not walked a Maryland batter Saturday until the ninth inning.
"You score seven runs, you probably expect to win that game," NU coach Will Bolt said. "We've just got to find a way to finish it off. We've got to make better pitches. We've got to find a way to finish that game off on the mound when we've got a 5-1 lead in the fifth there."
The Terps piled up 13 hits to Nebraska's seven as NU struggled to get anything going outside of the five-run third.
The Huskers managed just a pair of singles and Anderson's home run the rest of the way.
Hallmark was the only Husker with more than one hit, finishing 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Maryland's No. 2 through No. 7 hitters each had two hits. That included Benjamin Cowles, whose three-run homer in the fifth was his Big Ten-leading 10th of the season.
The loss left Nebraska one game short of matching the 2014 team for the best 20-game conference start since NU joined the Big Ten. That team started 15-5 on the way to finishing 18-6 and second in the conference.
Still, as Hallmark pointed out, the main goal remains firmly in reach for the Huskers.Â
"We've got a lot of older guys that have played a lot of college baseball. So we understand you’re not going to win every single game," Hallmark said. "If you want to win the conference you’ve got to win series, you don’t have to win every single game, and so far up to this point we’ve been able to limit the damage after we’ve lost a game."
Photos: Nebraska stumbles after taking four-run lead, falls to Maryland
Maryland’s Benjamin Cowles (1) celebrates his three-run homer with teammate Luke Shliger in front of Nebraska catcher Luke Roskam (25) in the fifth inning Saturday at Haymarket Park. Cowles' homer tied the game at 5-5.
Nebraska’s Cam Chick steals third base as the throw from Maryland catcher Justin Vought gets past the Terps' third baseman, allowing Chick to score in a game last season.