Photo by Ian Cox/Maryland Terrapins
With two outs and two runners in the 11th inning, Andrew Koshy had the chance to secure Maryland baseball’s first Big Ten series win.
The sophomore did just that, inducing a game-ending groundout and getting an emphatic fist pump from first baseman Eddie Hacopian.
Maryland (22-26, 8-15 Big Ten) survived a back-and-forth affair against Penn State (26-19, 12-14 Big Ten) at Medlar Field on Saturday, outlasting the Nittany Lions 12-11.
With runners on first and second, shortstop Chris Hacopian took the plate in the top of the ninth with two outs. Down two strikes, Chris Hacopian drove in outfielder Aden Hill on an RBI single to bring the score to 8-9.
Eddie Hacopian followed with his own RBI single, tying the game at nine. Parker Corbin bolted from second base as soon as the ball came off Hacopian’s bat, and he came diving into home plate headfirst for the tying run.
In the winning effort, Chris Hacopian recorded six hits, tying 2022 Big 10 Player of the Year Chris Alleyne’s program record for most hits in a single game. Eddie Hacopian led the team with four RBIs on four hits, including an early triple.
The Hacopian brothers finished the game with 10 combined hits, accounting for nearly half of Maryland’s total hits.
Maryland’s offense continued to produce in extra innings as redshirt sophomore Hollis Porter regained Maryland’s lead. In Porter’s previous at-bat, he failed to capitalize with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, flying out to end the inning. But in his second attempt with a runner on base, Porter crushed a two-run home run over the right field wall, giving Maryland an 11-9 advantage.
After Penn State tied the bottom frame, sophomore Brayden Martin regained the Terps’ lead with a solo home run in the first at-bat of the 11th inning. The homer was only his second this season, and he sent the 0-2 pitch deep into right field after fouling two off.
Andrew Koshy was dominant in his two-inning relief performance, notching his second win of the season. Koshy sat down the three Nittany Lions he faced in order in the tenth inning, and navigated out of a two-baserunner situation in the 11th for the win.
Earning Saturday’s start for Maryland was Joey McMannis. The sophomore put together a solid first three innings before struggling in the fourth. During the fourth inning, McMannis loaded the bases after giving up a solo home run to Nick Voss, giving Paxton Kline the opportunity to knock in two runs to bring Penn State’s total to five and the Terps’ lead to just one.
But Maryland’s bullpen woes from prior series persisted into Saturday’s game. Ryan Van Buren lost Maryland’s original lead when he gave up a home run in the seventh inning that tied the game, and an inning later, it took Cristofer Cespedes exactly seven pitches to give the Nittany Lions a two-run lead.
But five runs in the final three innings for Maryland’s offense, and a strong performance by Koshy in the final inning allowed Maryland to secure the victory.
The Terps will now have the chance to sweep the Nittany Lions in Sunday’s contest.
