Junior Mike Shawaryn struck out 16 batters in Maryland’s 5-3 win over Indiana. (UMTerps.com)
The Unicorn has arrived in Omaha.
Helping Maryland to consecutive Charlottesville Super Regional appearances, in his first two season, Mike Shawaryn has re-wrote the Terrapin record book. One of college baseball’s most decorated players, an All-American and a USA Baseball National Collegiate Team alum, the junior right-handed pitcher has been a catalyst in Maryland reaching unprecedented heights.
After twice falling just shy of reaching Omaha and the College World Series, Shawaryn turned in a performance for the ages in Maryland’s TD Ameritrade Park debut, striking out 16 batters in a 5-3 win over Indiana, opening the 2016 Big Ten Tournament.
Maryland fell a game shy of the 2014 College World Series, dropping the third and decisive game to Virginia in the program’s first super regional appearance. Maryland faced a rematch with the Cavaliers a year ago in the same round, after knocking off NCAA Tournament top seed UCLA in the Los Angeles Regional. The result was the same, Maryland unable to break through as Virginia used two ninth-inning rallies to end the Terrapin season. A program painstakingly close to reach college baseball’s pinnacle, when Maryland reached Omaha, they wasted little time setting the tone.
In the top of the first, a one-out triple to right center field by freshman left fielder Marty Costes was followed by a single up the middle from freshman second baseman Nick Dunn, giving Maryland a quick 1-0 lead. The early advantage in hand, Shawaryn, nicknamed the Unicorn, turned in a rare performance.
The right-hander struck out the first three batters faced in the bottom of the first, then did so again in the bottom of the second. A walk, error and fielder’s choice, allowed Indiana to tie the game 1-1 without the aid of a hit, but still unable to crack Shawaryn, who ended the third inning with eight strikeouts, then 10 by the close of the fourth inning.
While Shawaryn was cruising, Indiana senior left-hander Kyle Hart settled down after the shaky opening inning, retiring 10 consecutive batters going into the fifth inning. That frame saw the end of the pitcher’s duel.
Two consecutive singles was followed by a ground-rule double to left center from Costes, putting Maryland back in front. Just as he followed an extra-base hit from Costes in the first inning, a single from Dunn plated Maryland’s third run of the game. An RBI-groundout staked the Terps to a 4-1.
But in their third time through against Shawaryn, Indiana found life.
Drawing a leadoff walk to start the home-half of the fifth, senior shortstop Brian Wilhite scored on an RBI-double to left center off the bat of sophomore second baseman Colby Stratten. After a single from junior center field Craig Dedelow, a sacrifice fly from sophomore right fielder Logan Sowers drew the Hoosiers to within a run. The tying run on base, freshman catcher Ryan Fineman hit a ball to the left center gap, where Costes came up with a diving catch to end the inning, preserving the Maryland lead.
Escaping the fifth with the score in his favor, Shawaryn returned to form, conceding only a leadoff single in the sixth over his final four innings of work. Back-to-back doubles from Costes and Dunn in the seventh produced the game’s final 5-3 score.
Finishing one strikeout away from tying the Big Ten Tournament single-game record for strikeouts, Shawaryn eclipsed the 300 mark in careering innings pitched and strikeouts with the complete game, recording the 30th win of his career. In the 16-strikeout, 125-pitch outing, Shawaryn allowed three runs, two offered, off four hits and three walks, improving to 6-4 on the year. Costes and Dunn combined for six of Maryland’s 11 hits.
In falling to 10-4, Hart yielded four runs, all earned, off eight hits, striking out four without issuing a walk in five innings. Indiana freshman third baseman Luke Miller went 2-for-4 to lead the IU bats, joining Dedelow and Stratten as the lone Hoosiers to strike Shawaryn.
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