Maryland baseball squeaks past Portland, 9-8, evens weekend series

Maryland’s offense had troubling performances in its past two games. The Terps needed a big and early showing from their lineup to even their series with the Pilots.

Jacob Orr accomplished that for Maryland. The junior gave the Terps a multi-run cushion in the opening inning with a two-run double. And in the top of the ninth, with his team tied, he crushed a double for his fourth RBI of the game.

“That was a massive swing by Jacob Orr,” coach Matt Swope said. “For a guy that’s been in and out of the lineup…I can’t say enough about him coming through.”

Backed by its offense, Maryland baseball squeaked by Portland in Oregon on Saturday, 9-8. The Terps bounced back from their loss in the first game of the series the day prior, forcing a decisive third game of the series on Sunday.

Orr starred for Maryland’s offense, registering four RBIs with a three-hit day. Sam Hojnar and Elijah Lambros were the only other members of the lineup to record an RBI.

The Terps got out to an early lead on Saturday, unlike in their prior two games. A dropped third strike to lead off batter Chris Hacopian set the tone for the inning, as a fielding error two at bats later allowed Hacopian to get Maryland on the scoreboard first. 

A pair of walks later in the top of the first loaded the bases for Jacob Orr. Orr capitalized on the Pilots’ mistakes, scorching the Terps’ only hit of the frame into the left-center field gap to extend the lead to 3-0. Another Portland woe in the inning — this time a passed ball — allowed Kevin Keister to grow Maryland’s advantage.

The Terps’ offense went silent for the next couple innings before scoring a pair in the top of the fourth. A three-base error on a flyball from Eddie Hacopian allowed Chris Hacopian to score. Hojnar then brought home Eddie Hacopian on a base hit bunt, expanding Maryland’s lead to 6-1.

Errors continued to plague the Pilots in the sixth inning. Eddie Hacopain reached base for the third time because of an error, eventually scoring on Orr’s third RBI of the game.

A Lambros bases-loaded hit by pitch in the top of the eighth gave Maryland another run. It took Orr’s go-ahead base knock — his side’s ninth run — to seal the win.

Logan Koester had another quality performance for the Terps, allowing three runs on five hits through seven innings. Koester did a lot of his damage through weak contact — he finished the game with only three strikeouts. Koester’s seven-inning performance marked five consecutive appearances where he’s pitched at least four innings.

“He’s mister consistent,” Swope said. “He’s pounding the zone, he works the zone, lets his defense do the work…just another great start by him.”

Portland’s offense broke through against Koester in the third as consecutive singles to start the inning, which allowed Brady Bean to put the Pilots on the board on a sacrifice fly.

Koester kept Portland’s bats at bay each of the next three innings, not allowing a run as he dazzled through six frames on the mound. Maryland’s starter gave up a pair of run-scoring groundouts in the bottom of the seventh, but the Terps’ lead still remained steady at 7-3.

Nate Haberthier started the eighth inning in relief of Koester. His outing was a disastrous performance — the Pilots rallied to tie the game with a five-run frame despite nearly all of their starters being pulled in the sixth inning.

Consecutive hits from Curtis Hebert and Gage Bruce to start the frame gave Portland an early run. Another single from Jace Miller trimmed its deficit to three. A well-placed pop fly down the left field line by Tristan Gomes scored two runs. And Evan Scavotto tied the game on a blistering line drive into left field. 

The Pilots had a chance to tie the game again in the ninth, with a runner on second, but a strikeout from Logan Berrier ended the game. 

“Everyone has belief that he’s gonna go in and shut the door,” Orr said. “He just comes out there and pounds the strike zone [and goes] right after kids and it gives us a lot of confidence playing behind him.”

Despite nearly blowing the game, Maryland has a chance on Sunday at 3 p.m. to take the series against Portland.