Photo courtesy of Allison Mize/Maryland Terrapins
The Maryland Terrapins (16-21, 4-11 Big Ten) split the double header with the No. 15 Oregon Ducks (24-10, 12-6) on Sunday in College Park, but ultimately lost the series.
Game 1
With the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning, senior Jacob Orr was up to the plate and delivered a bases-clearing RBI double to give the Terps a 9-2 lead.
Senior Andrew Johnson took his first start of the year on the mound for the Terps. He has had 15 appearances out of the bullpen for the Terps. Head coach Matt Swope said nothing was off the table and that he’s willing to move players around to help them gain comfort.
Johnson has started five times prior in his career at Maryland. He enters the game with 22 innings pitched and a 5.73 ERA on the season.
He went scoreless through the first two innings before allowing the first two runs of the game in the third inning after allowing two lead-off hitters.
Johnson pounded the strike zone, playing aggressively and getting ahead of hitters. He finished the game with 3.1 innings pitched, three strikeouts, and two earned runs on three hits.
Freshman Logan Hastings came into the game in the fourth inning and pitched the remaining 3.2 innings.
Hastings has been struggling lately, allowing 12 runs in his last three innings pitched. He came out of the bullpen for the first time since February in Tuesday’s game against Georgetown. According to Swope, it was so he could get more in-game action, as he couldn’t get out of the first inning in his last two starts.
Hastings had a great performance in Sunday’s game, however, allowing zero runs and only two hits and one walk. He did hit three batters, though, which hadn’t been a problem he had faced before the game.
“He’s really good if we can keep him in the [strike] zone,” Swope said. Hastings has had up-and-down games so far this season, but when he does struggle, it stems from a lot of walks. He has 21 walks on the season, only Andrew Johnson has more on the team with 22.
The Terps’ offense also caught fire as the Ducks could not handle the front half of the lineup.
Brayden Martin hit the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh, a single to center fielder which brought home sophomore Liam Willson and senior Elijah Lambros. The Junior infielder reached base on all five of his appearances, hitting 3-for-3 with two walks.
Martin was one of three Terps who ended the game with two walks. Senior Eddie Hacopian ended the game 1-or-3 with two walks, and his brother, sophomore Chris Hacopian, reached on every at-bat with a double, a fielding error, and two walks.
Some other Terps had great days at the plate, including senior Alex Calarco, who was intentionally walked twice to start the game, and hit 2-for-2 when he got the chance.
Sophomore Collin Clarke started on the mound for the Ducks. He has started in all eight appearances this year and maintained a 4.25 ERA whilst pitching 42.1 innings. Clarke allowed four runs in four innings pitched, allowing five hits, and walking five batters, two of which were intentional.
The walks were the story of the game for the Ducks as they walked ten batters, giving Maryland plenty of chances to convert hits into runs.
Oregon wasn’t able to score after the third inning when they scored the first two runs of the game.
Game 2
After the fifth inning was extended by a Chris Hacopian infield error, senior Jacob Walsh delivered the second home run of the inning, this one a two-run homer that extended the lead to 3-8.
Sophomore Joey McMannis was on the mound to start the game for the Terps in the second game of the double header. The sophomore has bounced around in the pitching staff throughout the year but started and pitched three innings against Georgetown on Tuesday.
McMannis had a strong freshman campaign with a 4.99 ERA in 12 appearances and 10 starts. He has had a rougher sophomore campaign with an 11.17 ERA in 19.1 innings pitched. He pitched two scoreless innings before being pulled for freshman Jake Yeager, who had been starting Sunday games in weeks prior.
“We had gotten him warmed up during the first game, so there’s that forty-five minute break, you got to be careful getting guys hot […] He was warming up for multiple innings in the first game, and then had a break, so it’s more to do the right thing and protect his arm,” Swope said on his reason for pulling McMannis after two innings.
Swope has said a lot recently that he is looking to move guys around, get them comfortable, but also is ultimately trying to win the games at hand anyway that they can. In both games, he had somewhat of an ‘opening pitcher’ who pitched a few innings before turning to their normal starting arms in Hastings and Yeagers.
He also added how playing a double header flexes this dynamic, “It makes it a little harder when you have a game and then a double header […] I literally didn’t even know the starter until I ran over there after the game, and knew how the game was ending, I mean, if that game even goes nine, and you don’t run rule them in the first game, it might change the dynamic. We’re just trying to win the game at hand.”
Yeager, who is typically a very steady arm for the Terps, only recorded one out while loading the bases before being pulled.
Swope and the rest of the pitching staff were ready to go deep in the bullpen, pulling out five pitchers in the first five innings.
The Terps ended the game with only five hits and didn’t score a run after the fourth inning.
The Terps couldn’t get the offense going, and a big reason for that was Oregon starter junior Jason Reitz. The 6’11 pitcher has started in four of his nice appearances, where he has racked up a 4.63 ERA in 23.1 innings pitched.
He targeted the strike zone heavily, consistently getting ahead of the Terps, and forcing bad swings later in at-bats.
Reitz got through seven innings and ended the day with three earned runs–two of which came in the first inning, eleven strikeouts, and only allowed five hits and a walk.
The Oregon batters were able to get going, but they also got a lot of help from Maryland pitchers. The Ducks had 16 hits and walked 11 times, nine of which came in the first five innings.
Walsh had a great game from the plate, hitting 2-for-5 with a walk and a two-run home run.
Dominic Hellman had a good day at the plate as well, being one of the few bright spots for the Ducks in the first game of the day. He ended up getting on base in five of his ten at bats.
Ultimately, Walks were what dictated offensive success through both games.
“It seems like a big common theme, if we can work ahead, and I know that sounds simple, if we can stay off that freebie and make them earn it a little bit, then we’ll be fine,” Swope said.
Oregon has now won all but one of their Big Ten series, while the Terps have failed to claim one of them.
“For the most part, I told them, let’s focus on how we played a complete game Wednesday, and game one and two of the series, and if we can consistently put two and three and four games in in a row we’ll be dangerous down the stretch,” Swope said on the mentality moving forward.
The Terps will now look to their midweek game on Tuesday in Emmitsburg at Mount St. Mary’s.
