Swope Era Opens With 5-4 Comeback Win Over Georgia Southern

Friday, February 16

Statesboro, GA

6:30 PM

Maryland

1-0

Georgia Southern

0-1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Maryland	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	1	1	5	10	1
Georgia Southern	0	0	0	2	1	1	0	0	0	4	6	0

Swope Era Opens With 5-4 Comeback Win Over Georgia Southern

2/16/2024 6:30:00 PM | Baseball

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STATESBORO, GA – Maryland baseball rallied for a comeback and kicked off the Matt Swope Era with an emphatic 5-4 victory over Georgia Southern at J.I. Clements Stadium on Friday.

Come back dub on Opening Day!#DirtyTerps
— Maryland Baseball (@TerpsBaseball) February 17, 2024

Sam Hojnar's sacrifice fly scored Jacob Orr, who singled to lead off the ninth inning to put the Terps up 5-4. Nate Haberthier closed the door in the bottom of the ninth with the Eagles' game-tying run in scoring position, earning the save. Freshman Brayden Martin made a running catch on the left field warning track for the final out to clinch the victory.

Trailing 4-1 heading into the seventh inning, Jacob Orr smashed the Terps' first home run of the season - a two-run shot to left-center. In the eighth, Devin Russell smoked a liner to left with two outs to score Eddie Hacopian to deadlock the game at 4-4.

T7 | Jacob Orr with a nuke!!💣

GSU 4
Terps 3#DirtyTerps pic.twitter.com/LlLPIPTrZp
— Maryland Baseball (@TerpsBaseball) February 17, 2024

Orr, Kevin Keister and Alex Calarco all had two hits. Orr drove in a pair on his homer while Keister and Russell had the other RBIs.

On the mound, Kenny Lippman threw four innings without allowing an earned run, striking out five batters and allowing one hit. Logan Berrier came on in relief and tossed four innings allowing two runs and fanning six. Berrier earned the victory.

E1 | Kenny strikes out back-to-back hitters to end the first

GSU 0
Terps 0#DirtyTerps pic.twitter.com/hqPPhkDNZy
— Maryland Baseball (@TerpsBaseball) February 16, 2024

Georgia Southern didn't record any hits in the final three innings.

Breaking Down The Action

T8 | Two out magic from @Russell22Devin

GSU 4
Terps 4#DirtyTerps pic.twitter.com/2FvcgRDExj
— Maryland Baseball (@TerpsBaseball) February 17, 2024

Alex Calarco and Kevin Keister each singled in the bottom of the second for the game's first two hits.
Calarco led off the fourth inning with a single but the game was still scoreless heading into the bottom of the fourth. Georgia Southern was also yet to record a hit.
Georgia Southern loaded up the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fourth. Kenny Lippman retired the next two batters but the Eagles drew a walk to score the first run of the game. The Eagles added another on a passed ball to take a 2-0 lead after four innings.
A sacrifice fly scored another run for Georgia Southern in the bottom of the fifth to take a 3-0 lead.
In the top of the sixth, Sam Hojnar hit a leadoff triple off the wall in center field. Keister then picked up a single, scoring Maryland's first run of the game. Georgia Southern responded with an RBI double from Josh Tate in the bottom of the sixth with two outs.
Jacob Orr homered to left field for the Terps' first of the season in the seventh to cut the deficit to one.
In the eighth, the Terps put together a two-out rally to tie the game at 4-4 on an RBI single by Devin Russell with two outs to score Eddie Hacopian, who had doubled to right center.
Hojnar brought the go-ahead run home with a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth. Orr tagged up from third base after beginning the inning with a single.
Nate Haberthier secured the win despite Georgia Southern getting the game-tying run in scoring position.

Swope's Take
"It was grimy, they grinded it out. It was one of those things where they don't make it easy for your first win," head coach Matt Swope said. "I got to give them credit, the energy was good the whole time, I thought we played well. We built up some innings, we just couldn't push through early. I thought the process was good on offense and defense and I'm glad they stuck with it and came out the end with a win."

From The Guys
"I felt pretty good after the first two at-bats, felt like I was on the ball," right fielder Jacob Orr said regarding his home run. "He was throwing me a lot of changeups, so two strikes I was kind of looking for it. That's what I got, so just put a good swing on it. I was just glad I could help the team and bring it within one."

Swope's Head Coaching Debut

Matt Swope made his head coaching debut after being named the ninth head coach in Maryland's 132-year history over the offseason.
Swope, who has been associated with the program for more than two decades, became the first Maryland baseball alum to lead the team as head coach since Tom Bradley (1991-2000). Bradley later recruited Swope to Maryland in 1998.
Over the last two seasons as associate head coach, Swope helped lead the Terps to 90 wins, the two winningest seasons in program history as the Terps went 48-14 in 2022 and 42-21 in 2023, winning Big Ten Championships and qualifying for the NCAA Regionals in both seasons.
Leading the Terrapins hitting program as associate head coach, Swope oversaw an offense that shattered multiple records. The Terps set records for most home runs (137), most hits (684), most runs (578), most RBIs (552), highest slugging percentage (.564), and most walks (385).
Swope was a four-year starter and had an illustrious career in College Park from 1999-2002. Swope finished his career with a .331 batting average, 16 home runs, and 135 RBI. He still stands second in runs scored (181), and hits (253), fifth in walks (106), seventh in total bases (360), ninth in RBI, and 10th in stolen bases (44).

Terp Debuts

Brayden Martin, Chris Hacopian, Sam Hojnar and Alex Calarco made their debuts as starters for Maryland baseball.
Logan Berrier, a transfer from Longwood, made his debut as he came on in relief in the bottom of the fifth. He struck out five batters and earned a win.
Calarco, a transfer from Northwestern, went 2-for-4 with two singles.
Martin, a freshman, recorded his first collegiate hit with a single in the fifth inning.
Hojnar, a transfer from Iowa, cracked a leadoff triple in the sixth inning and accounted for the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly.

The New No. 3

T6 | @kevkeist8 brings home the first run of the game for the Terps on an infield single

GSU 3
Terps 1#DirtyTerps pic.twitter.com/Q6TbA9IKe8
— Maryland Baseball (@TerpsBaseball) February 17, 2024

Kevin Keister has taken over the mantle as this season's new No. 3 and team captain, taking over for All-American catcher Luke Shliger, who was drafted by the San Francisco Giants. Keister finished 2-for-4 with an RBI in his first game dawning the iconic number.
The No. 3 is a huge honor for whoever is given the number as it embodies the three pillars of Maryland baseball: toughness, ownership, and growth mindset.
Keister, a 2022 All-Big Ten First Team selection, is continuing the tradition of strong leadership and honor that the No. 3 jersey represents.
Keister is coming off a strong 2023 campaign, where the Smyrna, Delaware native finished with a .303 batting average, 10 home runs, and a career-high 51 RBI. His 46 walks a season ago were the fifth-most for a Terp in a single season.

Numbers To Know

1: Martin, Hacopian, Hojnar, Calarco and Berrier each made their debuts as a Terp.
1: Martin recorded his first career hit.
2: Haberthier earned his second save as a Terp.
4: Orr hit his fourth career home run.
10: Orr had multiple RBIs in a game for the 10th time in his career.
12: Maryland pitchers combined to strike out 12 Eagles.
14: Orr had multiple hits in a game for the 14th time in his career.
18: Calarco had his 18th career multi-hit game and first as a Terp.
39: Keister his 39th career multi-hit game.

Up Next

Maryland is back in action tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET for its second game in a three-game series at Georgia Southern. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and fans can listen on radio at Maryland Baseball Network.