Friday Night: Maryland defeats Texas A&M Corpus Christi 7-5

Maryland kept the same starting rotation from the prior weekend and started Kenny Lippman, Friday night. Lippman pitched well but didn’t get a ton of help from his defense early in the game.

Texas A&M scored two runs in the bottom of the first, one of them unearned due to a Kevin Keister error. The Islanders scored two more runs in the third inning with one run again being unearned due to another Keister error. 

Maryland’s offense only scored one run through the first six frames due to the pitching of Islander starter Mattew Watson. Watson allowed just one run through the first six innings, retiring the side in order three times. 

Watson pitched into the seventh inning getting two outs before Maryland’s bats came alive. Maryland scored its first run of the inning on a RBI single from Jacob Orr. Watson was replaced by Michael Schwarz after the at-bat ending Watson’s day with him responsible for one runner. Schwarz faced only Brayden Martin who worked a walk and then Jack Hill entered the game. 

Hill hit the first batter he faced, loading the bases for Sam Hojnar. Hojnar drove a single through the right of the infield scoring two runs and tying the game at 4-4.

Both teams went scoreless in the eighth inning setting up for an exciting ninth inning finish. 

Orr got the inning started with a walk and came around to score when Eddie Hacopian singled into right field, putting Maryland ahead by one. Hojnar capped off the inning with a two-run homer giving Maryland a three-run advantage heading into the final frame.

Trystan Sarcone came in for the save and allowed one run via a sacrifice fly, but didn’t allow anything else, closing the win with a groundout to second base. 

Saturday: Maryland defeats Pitt 10-4

Maryland’s bats didn’t need any time to get going in this game, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the second inning. 

The Terps had seven hits in the second inning, two of them extra base hits. Chris Hacopian had the biggest hit in the inning, a two-run homer that brought the Terps to the seven run mark. 

Maryland starter Logan Koester kept the Panthers scoreless through the first three innings allowing only two baserunners in that span. The Panthers put two on the scoreboard in the fourth inning via back to back RBI singles from Turner Grau and Jake Kendro.

Pitt replicated its fourth with another two-run inning in the fifth. Pitt scored one of its runs on a single by Luke Cantwell and the other on a fielder’s choice. Koester navigated out of the trouble on the base paths, ending his day after getting through the fifth inning. Koester allowed three earned runs in his five innings and struck out one batter. 

The Terps bullpen shut down the Panthers lineup through the final four frames. Joey McMannis and Logan Berrier both threw two innings in relief allowing a combined two hits. 

The Terps offense added a run in the fifth and two runs in the seventh to get their total into double digits. The win put Maryland one win away from winning the Kleberg Bank College Classic.

Sunday: Washington defeats Maryland 6-5

Maryland’s bats got off to another hot start scoring three runs in the second inning, giving them a 3-1 lead in the early part of the game. Brayden Martin drove in all three runs with a bases clearing double to the gap in left field. 

Washington slowly inched its way back into the game scoring a run in the fourth and sixth inning tying the game at three. The runs came against two different Maryland pitchers.

Maryland’s starter Meade Johnson allowed two runs to score in his four innings of work. Johnson struggled with his command walking five of the 19 batters he faced. Johnson was replaced by Garrett French to start the fifth inning.

French pitched two innings in relief allowing just one hit, though that one hit was a home run. Senior Michael Brown was the first batter French faced in the sixth and Brown quickly tied the game with his first home run of the year. French stayed on after the home run, getting through the rest of the inning unscathed. 

Maryland’s offense, which had been dormant since the three-run second inning, responded to the game’s new outlook with a two-run top of the seventh. Both runs scored courtesy of a single to right field from first baseman Eddie Hacopian. 

After regaining the lead, freshman Evan Smith went to the mound to pitch the bottom half of the seventh. Smith got through the seventh without allowing a baserunner. Smith stayed on to pitch the eighth inning and struggled with three of the first four batters of the inning.

Smith got the first out of the inning on the first batter he faced. Smith then walked the next two hitters, bringing up Blake Wilson. Wilson blasted a three-run homer to left field putting the Huskies on top for the first time in the afternoon. 

Smith was replaced with Alex Walsh who got the final out of the inning. 

The Terrapins had a chance to win or tie the game in the top of the ninth after Elijah Lambros started the inning with a single to center field, but they couldn’t get the key hit. Maryland hit into two fielder’s choice plays and Sam Hojnar struck out ending the hopes of a comeback win.