Maryland baseball takes opening series vs. Georgia Southern

Maryland Baseball began the 2024 season in Statesboro, Georgia taking on the Georgia Southern Eagles. Here's a look at how the weekend went for the Terps: Friday: Maryland 5, Georgia Southern 4 Maryland began the season with a thriller and picked up the first win of the Matt Swope era. Georgia Southern took a 4-1 lead into the 7th inning, but that's when the Terps bats got hot. Junior Jacob Orr hit Maryland's first home run of the season cutting the lead to 4-3. Maryland was able to tie the game in the 8th thanks to two, two-out hits, a double by Eddie Hacopian and a game-tying single knocked in by Devin Russell. In the 9th, Sam Hojnar was able to give Maryland the lead by driving in the go-ahead run via a sac fly. The bottom of the ninth was a bit shaky for the Terps, as the Eagles had the tying run at second with one out. With two out, JD Kaiser hit a rocket to left that Brayden Martin was able to catch at the wall ending the game, and securing the win for Maryland. Kenny Lippman went 4 for the Terps giving up two unearned runs, while Logan Berrier pitched four innings in relief, and earned the win. Nate Haberthier earned the save, with normal closer Garrett French under the weather. https://twitter.com/TerpsBaseball/status/1758666170537070868 Saturday: Maryland 7, Georgia Southern 1 Maryland secured their first series win of the season on Saturday thanks in large part to two home runs and fantastic pitching. Chris Hacopian got the scoring started in the 3rd inning by recording his first collegiate hit and home run making it 2-0 Terps. Both teams were able to scratch a run across in the fourth inning, but that was all Georgia Southern was able to produce offensively. The Terps were able to add on singular runs in the 6th and 8th before putting up 2 more in the ninth. In the ninth, Alex Calarco hit his first home run in a Maryland uniform. Maryland's pitching was phenomenal, surrendering just four hits, four walks, and the lone run. They used only three pitchers as well. Logan Koester started and went four, Joey McMannis followed that up with four innings of one-hit shutout relief, and Trystan Sarcone worked the ninth. Sunday: Georgia Southern 7, Maryland 3 A stellar pitching performance from the Eagles' Ty Fisher prevented Maryland from completing the sweep on Sunday. Fisher went six innings allowing just one run while striking out eight. Despite taking a 1-0 lead in the third inning, Maryland let up three in the bottom half of the inning, and the Eagles led from that point on. Georgia Southern was led by their leadoff hitters Josh Tate and Sam Blancato, who each had two hits and three RBIs combined. Blancato had a homer as well. Meade Johnson lasted just three and a third innings while allowing four in his Maryland debut. The Terps were able to make it 5-3 in the top of the 7th, but allowed both runs back in the bottom half. Takeaways: Hot start for Jacob Orr Orr picked up four hits in the opening series (4-10, HR, 4 RBIs) including a big home run on Saturday night. Orr was a player that Matt Swope said he was waiting on to "take the next step", saying that he coaches him hard because he expects a lot from him. If Orr can produce like he did this weekend, Maryland's lineup will be that much deeper. New Faces Shine on Offense In addition to freshman Chris Hacopian's, mammoth two-run shot from Saturday night, Alex Calarco hit his first home run of the season, Sam Hojnar had the game-winning RBI on Friday, and Brayden Martin picked up an RBI on Sunday. In a Maryland lineup that looks much different than it has in recent years, there was no shortage of offense for the Terps in Statesboro. Multiple strong relief outings Maryland's bullpen has struggled a bit in recent years, but there were some very encouraging signs in the opening weekend. Longwood transfer Logan Berrier threw four solid innings on Friday allowing just two runs. Freshmen Joey McMannis was brilliant on Saturday covering the fifth through the eighth inning. Successful relief appearances of multiple innings were not very common last year for Maryland. If the Terps want to win a third straight Big Ten championship, they are going to have to lean on their pitching more than they have in recent years. Up next: Maryland returns to Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium on Tuesday for their 2024 Home Opener against the Mount St. Marys Mountaineers. The Mountaineers are coming off of a series loss against Norfolk State, dropping Sunday's game in extras. Following that, the Terps will head to Corpus Christi, Texas for a round-robin weekend series with Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Pittsburgh, and Washington. Tuesday's game will be at 4:00 on Big Ten Plus. All Maryland Baseball games are available to listen to for free on the Maryland Baseball Network. Related Links

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