Photo courtesy of Ian Cox/Maryland Terrapins
The Dirty Terps (3-2) set school records for hits and runs in a historic 35-12 blowout victory over the Western Carolina Catamounts on Saturday.
The Terrapins scored multiple runs in each inning, with each starter notching at least one RBI throughout the game. Catcher Alex Calarco alone accounted for seven RBIs thanks in part to his second grand slam of the weekend. Both the 35 runs and 28 hits the Terps combined for are program records.
The first inning made it look like the Catamounts would be the dominant team. After taking a two-run lead thanks to a Hollis Porter home run scoring Chris Hacopian, Hayden Friese immediately responded with a home run of his own, scoring P/DH Mason Holton.
The Catamounts then racked up three more runs off Terps starter Joey McMannis. But it would be the last inning WCU would score multiple runs until the eighth inning, by which point the Terps were leading 31-8. Meanwhile, the Terps would respond with a six-run inning, starting the cascade of scoring.
Reliever Jack Wren got the win after allowing only one run in four innings. He now has a 1.64 ERA through 11 innings pitched this season. Cristofer Cespedes came in to relieve Wren but was pulled after walking four batters without recording an out. In relief for Cespedes, Brayden Ryan matched Wren with two strikeouts in two innings.
Western Carolina went through nine different pitchers throughout the game, including four freshmen. Of the nine pitchers, none lasted two innings, the closest to reaching that mark being freshman Charlie Collins and starting pitcher Mason Holtman.
With Eddie and Chris Hacopian being the only Terps to play all nine innings, the Maryland bench got 13 at-bats and accounted for seven of the 35 runs. Notably, Paul Jones II came off the bench for first baseman Hollis Porter to hit a grand slam in the seventh inning. Jacob Orr hit a home run with two outs in the ninth, ensuring the Terps would have runs in all nine innings. His shot went over the tall left-field wall, scoring Michael Iannezzo.
Despite the heavily lopsided loss, the Catamounts had a productive day at the plate. Western Carolina combined for a .892 OPS on their way to scoring 12 runs on 12 hits, outdoing their performance during yesterday’s victory over Maryland.
Following today’s four-and-a-half-hour game, Maryland will take on the Catamounts in a rubber match tomorrow at 3:00 p.m.
