Maryland baseball went to Evanston this weekend for a three-game series against a Northwestern team that was 0-6 in Big Ten play. Not only did Northwestern get its first conference win of the season, they took the series from Maryland and the Terps’ suffered a series loss that could potentially be the dagger to their NCAA Tournament hopes. Here’s a look at how the weekend went:
Friday: Northwestern 6, Maryland 5 (10 innings)
The Terps got off to a great start Friday taking a 1-0 lead in the second on a Sam Hojnar RBI double, and then took a 4-0 lead when Jacob Orr cleared the bases with a double in the fourth inning. The Wildcats got on the board in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run home run by first baseman Trent Liolis. Maryland got one back in the sixth on a sac-bunt by Elijah Lambros making the score 5-2. Jackson Freeman homered in the sixth to make it 5-3 and the Wildcats would tie it in the eighth on a sac-fly and a game-tying RBI single from Liolis. When the game went to extras, the Terps put two on with no one out, but couldn’t break through. In the bottom of the tenth with the bases loaded and one out, Tony Livermore singled off Logan Berrier to give Northwestern the win, and hand Berrier his first loss of the season. Kenny Lippman was much better for the Terps going six innings and allowing three. Berrier went the last two and two-thirds while allowing three as well.
Saturday: Northwestern 11, Maryland 1
The middle game of the series was an absolute disaster for Maryland. The Terps fell behind immediately when Preston Knotts homered to start the day for Northwestern. With the game at 4-0 going to the bottom of fifth, Northwestern blew the game scoring seven times making the score 11-0 and the game all but over. The Terps made three errors in this game, one by Brayden Martin and two by Eddie Hacopian. Maryland did not score until the ninth inning when Alex Calarco doubled home Kevin Keister.
Sunday: Maryland 9, Northwestern 8 (10 innings)
The Terps were able to avoid a completely winless week with an extra-inning win on Sunday. Maryland got off to a good start early thanks to an Eddie Hacopian two-run home run, and a Devin Russell RBI double. With the game at 3-0 going to the bottom of the second, Northwestern got two back from a single and an Eddie Hacopian error. The Wildcats tied the game in the third when Bennett Markinson doubled down the right field line, an RBI groundout followed to give the Wildcats a 4-3 lead. Maryland got three in the fifth on a hit from Kevin Keister, and a bunt single by Brayden Martin. In the sixth, Eddie Hacopian hit his second home run of the day to make the score 8-3 Maryland. But, three Northwestern homers in three consecutive innings tied the game capped by a two-run shot by Griffin Mills to knot the score at 8. When the game went to extras, Sam Hojnar sent one out, which proved to be the game-winner in a dramatic Maryland victory. But, Elijah Lambros made a phenomenal catch to secure the win for the Terps, robbing a homer to end it.
Takeaways:
Life Support
Maryland dropping a series at Northwestern is pretty catastrophic in terms of their tournament resume. The Terps were probably pretty close to the bubble entering this weekend, but a series to the winless, last-place team in the Big Ten is not good at all for Maryland’s resume. Maryland might now be forced to first get into, and then win the Big Ten Tournament if they want to play in a fourth straight NCAA Regional. Evan Smith threw the final two and a thirds for Maryland and let up just one hit and two walks.
Change in the Lineup
Matt Swope mixed the lineup up once again on Sunday having Chris Hacopian leadoff and having Eddie Hacopian hit second. Clearly, it worked out for Eddie Hacopian, as he put up his first multi-home run game of the season.
McMannis Continues to Impress
Despite still having not earned a decision this season, Joey McMannis had another good outing on Sunday throwing five quality innings allowing just two runs. He has still not allowed more than three runs in any start this season.
Up next:
The Terps continue their road trip Tuesday as they head to Newark, Delaware for a matchup with the Blue Hens. Maryland then plays its second consecutive road conference series heading to Lincoln to take on Nebraska. Tuesday’s game will be on FloBaseball. All three games next weekend will be on Big Ten Plus.
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