The Terps got out to an early lead and never looked back.
Behind a seven-run outburst in the second inning Saturday, Maryland baseball took down Pittsburgh, 10-4. Maryland can clinch at least a share of the Kleberg Bank College Classic title with a win tomorrow against Washington.
Jacob Orr began the second-inning rally with an RBI single, which was followed by Elijah Lambros doing the same. After a walk, Sam Hojnar broke the game wide open with a bases-clearing double. Chris Hacopian homered a couple of at-bats later to cap off the explosive frame.
Logan Koester started the game for Maryland, and performed well. The redshirt senior threw three scoreless innings before running into some trouble in the fourth and fifth innings. In five innings of work, he gave up six hits and four runs — three earned.
The Panthers did their first damage in the fourth, cutting the lead to five.
In the fifth, Pittsburgh put up another two runs. Luke Cantwell hit an RBI single to bring in Dom Popa, which was then followed up by an RBI fielder’s choice.
But behind the early run support, it was never totally uncomfortable, and Joey McMannis looked sharp in relief.
McMannis kept the Panthers in check through his first two innings, but had some control issues in his third inning. After escaping a jam in the seventh inning, he loaded the bases in the eighth.
Logan Berrier, however, bailed out his teammate. The righty reliever forced a strikeout and then a double play to end the inning, all but securing the victory for the Terps.
After chasing Pittsburgh starter Ryan Reed, who only gave up one run to Maine in his first outing of the season, Maryland’s offense managed three additional runs.
In the bottom of the fifth, Eddie Hacopian hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Lambros and bring Maryland’s lead back to four. In the seventh, Hojnar hit his second RBI double of the afternoon.
It was a big game for a couple of Terps, who recorded a season-high 15 hits as a team. Lambros, Hojnar and Devin Russell each recorded multiple knocks.
Three things to know
1. A second-inning outburst. The Terps had their biggest inning of the season in the second frame Saturday. They rallied for seven runs behinf big RBIs from Orr, Elijah Lambros, Hojnar and Chris Hacopian.
2. Hojnar starred again. Hojnar drove in another four runs via two big doubles Sunday, marking his second game in a row with four RBIs. The Iowa transfer has been an early spark for the Terps’ offense this season, and a major reason why they’re undefeated in the tournament.
3. Keister reached base five times. Kevin Keister had was a offensive catalyst Saturday, going 3-of-3 from the plate with two walks.