Photo by Ian Cox/Maryland Terrapins
For the first seven innings of the game, Maryland baseball trailed and headed into the eighth inning down by two runs.
However, a barrage of seven hits and nine runs gave the Terps a seven-run advantage heading into the final inning.
Fueled by the nine-run eighth inning, Maryland (13-12, 2-4 Big Ten) rebounded after a lackluster performance in Seattle with a 15-8 win at Bob Smith Stadium over George Mason (16-9, 4-2 Atlantic 10) on Tuesday.
“It kind of just went all in our favor in the end,” Eddie Hacopian said. “We were relentless.”
The eighth inning started with an 8-6 lead for George Mason. Throughout that inning, the Patriots committed three errors, leading to three unearned runs. They also allowed three consecutive RBI doubles and surrendered two error-fueled triples. One of those triples came from an Elijah Lambros bunt.
After the 30-minute half inning, the Terps had more than doubled their run total, and seven players in the lineup scored.
“You could feel the energy shift once we got going,” Hacopian said. “We felt really good.”
The Terps got balanced scoring all game, as every player in the lineup recorded at least one RBI, and no individual player recorded more than two RBIs.
Brayden Ryan’s first appearance as a starter ended before the first inning concluded. Coming out of the bullpen, Ryan had racked up just six combined innings pitched across four appearances.
Ryan pitched just 0.2 innings on Tuesday, allowing two runs and getting his outs through pickoffs at first and second. Of the two pickoffs, one gave infielder Toby Hueber the opportunity to score from third base as part of a four-run opening frame for George Mason.
“It wasn’t the strategy,” head coach Swope said on pulling Ryan early in the game. “We’ve been all talking to each other over here, just trying to find consistent roles.”
The Terps’ offense finally got going in the second inning, down 6-0. Redshirt Sophomore Hollis Porter started the scoring by demolishing a 451-foot solo home run into right field. Sophomore Brayden Martin later followed with an RBI double to cut the deficit to two.
Swope was not shy about challenging calls early. In the first inning, Ryan threw a pickoff to Hacopian at first, who was convinced he had tagged Owen Hull out despite the call from first base. Swope challenged, but to no avail. His second challenge was more successful.
“I’m always pretty confident in my challenges,” Swope said. “I talk about moments all the time, (and) the moments came early, so we needed to challenge right there.”
In the third inning, Hollis Porter was called out on a close play at first base. This time, Swope’s challenge kept Porter on first, giving the Terps room for a squeeze play that later scored senior Jacob Orr.
Graduate Student Devin Milberg played a critical role in keeping the game close for the Terps in the early innings. The left-hander relieved Andrew Koshy and did not allow a single run across two innings. During Milberg’s time on the mound, the Terps cut a six-run deficit to one. Milberg finally gave up a run in the fifth inning.
The Terps struggled against George Mason relief pitcher Gardner Meeks throughout the middle innings. Meeks pitched three scoreless innings for the Patriots, halting the Terps comeback efforts by a run. During that time, the Patriots added two runs to their lead.
But the Terps rallied for nine runs in the eighth inning, allowing sophomore Joey McMannis to close the game in the ninth with a comfortable 15-8 lead.
Maryland will resume Big Ten play on Friday when it hosts Northwestern.
