Maryland baseball uses late rally to surge past James Madison, 9-5

Chris Hacopian looked to stay hot and add to the Terps’ lead in the eighth inning with the bases loaded. The freshman did just that.

Hacopian blasted the first pitch he saw. He bat flipped, watching a towering grand slam soar over the left field fence.

“If you look in like my first 10 games, I was a little taller and my setup and I was struggling to see the ball,” Hacopian said. “Now I’ve adjusted to be a lot lower and in my legs more and that’s made a mark that’s made a huge difference in seeing the off speed and just getting on fastballs.”

Hacopian’s home run gave Maryland baseball the insurance runs it needed to defeat James Madison at home on Tuesday, 9-5. The Terps scored in just two innings — the second and eighth — but those two big frames were all they needed to defeat the Dukes for their third straight win.

Hacopian led the way for the Maryland (16-5) offense, driving in five of the team’s nine runs. He started in the leadoff position for the third game in a row and continued to shine in his new role — his 3-3 day improved him to 7-12 in that spot since Saturday’s win over Portland. He has reached base at least twice in all three games and reached base in every at-bat against James Madison (13-8).

“He’s special,” coach Matt Swope said about Hacopian. “He’s one of the [best] impact freshmen in the country. I don’t care what anybody says…but it’s scary to see if he can figure it out.”

Ryan Van Buren put in another solid outing for the Terps, going five innings and allowing six hits. Van Buren’s outing marked the fifth consecutive game where he has pitched at least five innings.

But the Dukes were efficient at the plate against Maryland’s starter with its opportunities, scoring four runs over the first four frames.

James Madison wasted no time showing Van Buren its power hitting. A pair of home runs from Mike Mancini and Mason Dunaway gave the Dukes a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first.

James Madison stayed efficient at the plate in the following inning. A lead-off double off the bat of Brendan O’Donnell eventually aided the lead with another run after a sacrifice fly to center field by Jason Schiavone. 

The Dukes added their fourth run off Van Buren in the top of the fourth, as a softly hit ground ball to Kevin Keister allowed Schiavone to get his second RBI of the game on the ground out to score O’Donnell from third.

At least one James Madison batter reached base in every inning against Van Buren. But the right-hander did enough on the mound to leave his start with the game tied.

The combination of Omar Melendez and Logan Berrier excelled for the Terps’ bullpen. The duo fired four innings of one-run ball in relief.

“He’s unflappable,” Swope said about Melendez. “He may not have the role that he necessarily likes right now, but hasn’t complained once [and] has been very professional.”

Schiavone tried to rally the Dukes in the top of the ninth with a solo blast over the right-field fence to start the inning, but that was the only run James Madison put together in the inning as Hacopian’s grand slam resulted as the deciding hit.

Maryland’s lone offensive inning with runs with Van Buren still in the game came in an explosive bottom of the second. The damage started with the bases loaded.

Elijah Lambros got the Terps on the board with a sacrifice fly to shallow right field, and a pair of two-out hits from both Eddie Hacopian and Chris Hacopian gave Maryland a four-run frame.

But the second inning was the lone damage the Terps’ offense mustered against the Dukes’ starting pitcher Casey Smith. Maryland’s bats were stymied over the other five frames Smith pitched — the right-hander allowed just two earned runs on eight hits. 

At least one Terp reached base in five of Smith’s six innings thrown, but they only capitalized in the bottom of the second.

Maryland took advantage of James Madison’s bullpen to blow the game wide open in the bottom of the eighth. The Terps took the lead in an unconventional way, as Jordan Crossland brought home Jacob Orr on a bunt. 

Chris Hacopian then crushed his team-leading sixth home run and the team’s first grand slam of the year later in the frame to help Maryland surge past the Dukes.

The Terps will look for another win in their first Big Ten action on Friday against Michigan State.