Maryland ends its road trip with a 6-4 win against James Madison

Photo courtesy of Chris Lyons/Maryland Athletics

After a multitude of meltdowns by the bullpen, Maryland brought in its star reliever — Logan Berrier — in the seventh inning to protect its two-run lead. Logan Berrier did just that, delivering nine outs across nine batters faced to hold onto the two-run lead and deliver a save.

Maryland baseball (27-16, 6-9 Big Ten) used just two bullpen pitchers all game, allowing it to edge out a 6-4 win in James Madison, Virginia, on Tuesday night.

The Terps’ bullpen was influential in the team’s win, allowing only four baserunners across 6.2 innings.

James Madison (24-16, 10-8) entered the game No. 23 in RPI. The win was an important rebound performance for a Maryland team that was embarrassed in its final game of a weekend series against Nebraska.

James Madison took the lead in the opening inning when they played Maryland at College Park on Mar. 19. They did the same in Tuesday’s game on doubles from Fenwick Trimble and Mike Mancini to go ahead 1-0.

The Dukes continued to do their damage through extra-base hits when Trimble’s second double of the game evened the game at two. Unlike the first inning, Maryland’s starter Evan Smith could not limit the damage and a wild pitch returned the lead to the Dukes, ending Smith’s day.

After 2.1 innings pitched, the freshman was relieved in favor of Kenny Lippman. Smith missed tying his career-high innings pitched by one inning but could not avoid the barrel of the Dukes’ bats, surrendering five hits and three earned runs.

The Dukes continued to wear out the outfield gaps in the following inning as Ryan Dooley lined another double into left-center field, doubling the lead to 4-2.

Lippman inherited a third inning with runners on the corners and struck out two straight batters to get Maryland out of the jam. This set the tone for the rest of his outing. Lippman had one of his best outings of the season, allowing just two hits through 3.2 innings pitched.

Self-inflicted wounds hurt the Dukes in the third inning. A pair of walks and an error on a chopping ground ball allowed Maryland to get on the board. Then, a two-out opposite field base hit from Sam Hojnar gave the Terps a 2-1 advantage.

Chris Hacopian hit a towering home run, similar to his last game against the Dukes. Hacopian demolished a solo home run over everything and into the left-field parking lot.

The freshman went 3-3 with five RBIs when Maryland played the Dukes on Mar. 19, and he continued to do damage on Tuesday, going 3-for-4 with an RBI.

Later in the inning, freshman Michael Iannazzo blasted his first collegiate home run, giving Maryland a four-run fifth inning and a 6-4 lead which held until the end.

The win concludes a 10-game road trip for the Terps – going 4-6 in that span. They return to Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium this weekend to face Illinois, starting on Friday at 5 p.m.