Baseball swept away in conference opener

The Terrapin baseball team saw its ACC opener at No. 25 Georgia Tech as a chance to send a message to the conference that the Terps weren't the same program that had struggled in league play for the better part of the last decade.

Instead, the Terps left Atlanta disappointed, their opportunity to prove a point missed.

The Terps were swept by the Yellow Jackets in their first ACC series of the year, snapping a three-game winning streak as their recently resurgent hitting sputtered throughout the weekend.

"It was disappointing, for sure," coach Erik Bakich said. "We certainly didn't play up to our capability. We are a much better ball club than what we've shown."

Pitcher Sander Beck took the mound for the Terps (8-7, 0-3 ACC) in the series opener Friday night and went six strong innings, allowing only one run while scattering six hits.

"I thought we actually played well on Friday," Bakich said. "We pitched extremely well. That's the best I've ever seen Sander [Beck] pitch."

But Georgia Tech (12-4, 3-0) countered with Mark Pope, who tossed a complete-game shutout, as Terp batters managed only four hits on the night.

"I was actually OK with our offensive night," Bakich said. "We didn't score any runs; we actually hit some balls pretty hard and just didn't have anything to show for it. It was just one of those nights offensively."

Yellow Jacket center fielder Kyle Wren's RBI single in the fourth would be all Georgia Tech needed in the 1-0 win.

Pitcher David Carroll had been undefeated in his first three starts as a Terp, entering the weekend with a 3-0 record. But Georgia Tech got to him in the second game of the series Saturday, tagging him for six runs on 11 hits in less than five innings.

"David Carroll didn't have his best start, leaving the ball up in the zone a little bit," Bakich said. "We were the only team in the ACC going into Saturday to not give up a home run all year. We ended up giving up three home runs on Saturday, made some mistakes with our pitches."

Terp center fielder Korey Wacker had an RBI single in the third inning, and RBI from catcher Jack Cleary and shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez plated two in the seventh. But it wasn't nearly enough against the Yellow Jackets, who scored in six of the eight innings that they came to the plate en route to a 9-3 victory.

"I didn't think we were very tough. I thought we had a lot of non-competitive at-bats throughout the game," Bakich said. "We got down some runs early and just really didn't have an answer offensively.

"You have to be able to put the ball in play and be a tough out. We were an easy out. We were an easy out yesterday, and we had too many easy outs today."

While starting pitcher Eric Potter was able to provide the Terps' pitching staff with some stability Sunday in the series finale, Georgia Tech used two-out rallies to win, 6-2, and secure the series sweep.

The Yellow Jackets scored three times in the third and fifth innings, with all three runs coming with two outs.

Terp outfielder Jordan Hagel's RBI hit-by-pitch and designated hitter Tim Kiene's RBI groundout made it a 6-2 game, but they couldn't muster anything else. Through the first eight innings of the game, the Terps' top six hitters in the batting order went a combined 1-for-18.

"You're not going to beat anybody when your at-bats aren't uncompetitive," Bakich said.

"We couldn't really get that hit to get us going," Rodriguez said, "that spark to really ignite the offense."

While the sweep was obviously disappointing for the Terps, who were excited to debut their new-look team in conference play, they aren't letting themselves get too down about the losses.

"We know we definitely didn't play our best baseball. We know that we're definitely a better team than what we showed," Rodriguez said. "It's tough, but you also do realize it's a long season and there's 30 games in ACC. It's a small hiccup."

Bakich tempered expectations for the team, saying that the rebuilding process the Terps are currently in takes time.

"People should expect to see a new team and a young team that's going to make some mistakes and take some lumps early like we did here this weekend," Bakich said. "Hopefully, the best thing that can happen is we can get back out there, keep playing, keep improving. ... We have to start seeing more action, showing that, instead of talking about it."

schneider@umdbk.com