Maryland suffers first Big Ten series loss in over two years

Maryland baseball hit the road for the first time in conference play taking on a struggling Michigan team, who came into the weekend with four quad-four losses. Maryland took the first game but ended up walking out of Ann Arbor with a shocking series loss. Here’s a look at how the weekend played out:

Friday: Maryland 11, Michigan 9

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before; the Terps’ came back and won in their last at-bat. It was a great start to the series opener for Maryland. They were up 5-0 in the middle of the third inning with a combined four RBI hits, two of them from Sam Hojnar. Michigan got on the board in the fifth with two, and later in the fifth, Will Rogers hit a game-tying three-run homer to square everything at five. Chris Hacopian homered in the sixth to give Maryland the lead back, but Michigan took a 7-6 lead when Cole Caruso doubled to bring in a run. With the score at 8-6 going to the ninth, the Terps were once again trailing down to their final three outs. After Brayden Martin singled to bring it to a one-run game, Eddie Hacopian gave the Terps the lead with a two-run single up the middle. Maryland got two insurance runs thanks to RBI hits from Sam Hojnar and Kevin Keister. Michigan scored one in the ninth and were able to bring the tying run to the plate, but the Terps held on. Kenny Lippman had another rough outing for the Terps going just three and a third allowing five runs. Logan Berrier picked up the win for Maryland and is now 6-0 on the year. Dylan Vigue only went three for Michigan, and Will Rogers had a blown save and took the loss for the Wolverines.

Saturday: Michigan 12, Maryland 1

Game two of the series was an absolute beatdown. Michigan started hot and did not look back. The Wolverines scored eight times in the second inning leading to a blowout of the Terps. Michigan hit four extra base hits in the second inning, including two home runs. They scored twice again in the fourth to make the score 10-0. Maryland’s only run in the game came in the fifth on a Devin Russell home run. Michigan had two sac flies in the eighth to stamp the game, winning 12-1. It was a terrible start for Logan Koester, who had been so reliable to start the season. He lasted just an inning and a third allowing eight runs. Maryland was stunned at the plate by Jacob Denner, who went seven and two-thirds innings and allowed just one home run.

Sunday: Michigan 9, Maryland 4

Michigan started the game fast Sunday as well as the game was already 3-0 at the end of the third. The Wolverines got three RBI hits off Terps’ starter Joey McMannis. The Terps’ offense was able to get going scoring three in the fourth on two home runs, one by Eddie Hacopian and one by Kevin Keister. Elijah Lambros gave Maryland a 4-3 lead in the fifth with a home run of his own, but that was all Maryland would get. Following that, Cole Caruso tied the game for Michigan in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single. Mitch Voit hit a two-run homer in the sixth to give the Wolverines the lead back at 6-4. In the bottom of the seventh, Mack Timbrook stuck the dagger in with a three-run homer. Joey McMannis lasted four innings allowing three runs. Voit, a two-way player was terrific on the mound as well going seven innings allowing four runs.

Takeaways:

Streak Snapped

Maryland’s streak of 23 consecutive Big Ten series wins is over. The Terps’ were barely able to hang on at home last week against Michigan State, but fall to a lowly Michigan team in Ann Arbor. It’s the first series loss for Maryland in Big Ten play since 2021 at Nebraska.

RPI Killer

The Terps’ came into the weekend 26th in RPI, while the Wolverines were ranked 132. It’s a series loss that could potentially hurt Maryland’s postseason chances should they become a bubble team. The Terps now fall to 3-3 in Big Ten play.

Koester’s First Flop

Logan Koester has been Maryland’s most reliable pitcher so far this season but was rocked by the Wolverine’s offense early in the game. He was only able to throw 38 pitches before Matt Swope had to take him out, and his ERA increased almost two full runs from 2.72 to 4.54 as a result of Saturday’s game.

Up next:

The Terps take on UMBC in Catonsville on Tuesday at 6:00. The game will not be streamed. Maryland then finally returns to The Bob next weekend for a series date with Indiana. All three games against the Hoosiers can be streamed on Big Ten Plus. All Maryland Baseball games can be listened to for free on the Maryland Baseball Network.

Maryland suffers first Big Ten series loss in over two years

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