Maryland wins both games of Saturday’s doubleheader against Boston College

Photo courtesy of University of Maryland Athletics

After walking three consecutive batters and the go-ahead run lurking on first base, Logan Berrier sought to get Maryland out of his own jam. He did just that, striking out the final two batters and securing the final game of the doubleheader.

Backed by explosive hitting and excellent pitching, Maryland (34-18, 10-11 Big Ten) took both games of the doubleheader to secure the weekend series win against Boston College (21-27, 8-19 ACC) in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Game 1

As a result of the doubleheader, the first game lasted only seven innings. But Omar Melendez went the distance for Maryland. The junior is the first Maryland pitcher since Ryan Ramsey in 2022 to throw a complete game.

“[Melendez has] been great since we put him in the lineup,” coach Matt Swope said. “[He] really takes the weight off the other guys too and having everyone back for [the] second game.”

Backed by impeccable pitching from Melendez and an explosive opening frame, Maryland cruised past Boston College 8-1 in game one.

Melendez started the first game of Maryland’s previous weekend series. The junior’s control was on point in game one, surrendering just four hits and three free passes.

The Eagles’ lone run against Melendez’s came on a fly ball that fell in front of center fielder Elijah Lamrbos, who appeared to lose the ball in the sun.

But Maryland’s offense wasted no time, blowing the game wide open in the first. The Terps drew three free passes with the bases loaded, and Eddie Hacopian put the game out of reach with a two-run double to give Maryland a quick 6-0 lead.

“I think that [inning] kinda carried us the rest of the day,” Jacob Orr said. “We were able to capitalize on the moments and get out of big situations.”

Boston College entered the series with the worst ERA in the ACC at 6.74. Despite throwing its top pitcher — John West — those pitching woes continued.

West had a dreadful senior day, pitching a season-low 2.1 innings and allowing five hits and four free passes. Before Saturday’s outing, the senior had pitched at least four innings in all of his prior starts this season.

The Terps continued to pile on when Kevin Keister led off the third inning by sneaking a lead-off home run around the left-field foul pole. The home run is Keister’s second in as many games. 

Keister hit the game-winning home run in Maryland’s midweek game on Wednesday, and he carried the momentum into Saturday’s doubleheader. He reached base safely three times in four at-bats, including two extra-base hits and two RBIs.

Game 2

After two scoreless frames, Maryland tried to copy its performance from game one by delivering a knockout shot early.

An errant throw and a pair of hits from Chris Hacopian and Jacob Orr allowed the Terps to jump out to an early four-run lead.

The four-run inning and more excellent pitching allowed Maryland to edge out Boston College in the final game of the doubleheader 5-3.

Self-inflicted wounds hurt the Eagles in game one and continued to hurt them in game two. With two outs, a wild pitch sent Eddie Hacopian to second base, allowing a base hit from his younger brother — Chris Hacopian — to widen the gap to 5-2.

Chris Hacopian was excellent at the plate in game two, getting on base three times and driving in three of Maryland’s five runs.

Melendez’s game one performance allowed the Terps to save all their bullpen pitchers for game two. It was especially important since game two of the doubleheader would be a nine-inning game rather than a seven-inning game.

Unlike game one, the Eagles immediately responded with a sacrifice groundout and a base hit from Kyle Wolff to cut Maryland’s lead in half.

The third-inning scores were the lone runs the Eagles could muster on Koester. The redshirt senior didn’t feature his best stuff but was stingy when he needed to be, pitching the Terps out of multiple jams. Koester’s five innings pitched also marks the seventh time he pitched at least five this season.

A fresh bullpen allowed Matt Swope to lean on Kenny Lippman and Logan Berrier to close out the win. Similar to Koester, neither pitcher featured their best stuff but kept the Eagles off the board, securing a series win for the Terps.

“They’ve been lights out,” Swope said on Lippman and Berrier. “Quality starting pitching is really big, but you also need…guys that can finish games in the bullpen as well,”