COLLEGE PARK, MD -- The Terrapins open Big Ten play as they host the Michigan State Spartans this weekend at The Bob. The Terps enter the weekend series having won six out of their last seven games. All three games will be streamed on B1G+ and will air on the Maryland Baseball Network. *Due to inclement weather, Friday's series opener against Michigan State will now be played at 4 p.m.

Maryland (16-5) comes into the series after a win over James Madison on Tuesday. After falling behind 3-0 early, the Terps offense would erupt for four runs in the second inning, keyed by RBI base hits from Chris and Eddie Hacopian. James Madison would score a run fourth, and the game would remain tied at four apiece until the eighth inning. In the eighth, the Terps scored five runs, the biggest coming on a Chris Hacopian grand slam which was his team-leading sixth home run of the year. The grand slam was the first for the Terps this season after the team led the country in home runs with 11 in 2023. Logan Berrier came on in the ninth to finish the game, and Omar Melendez got his second win as a Terrapin in the 9-5 win.

The Terps and the Spartans have met 16 times, with the Terps holding the small advantage with a 10-6 record. These two teams last met in last year's Big Ten Tournament in a 3-2 win for the Terps where they turned a tournament record five double plays. The last time the two teams met in the regular season was back in 2021.

Michigan State (8-10) is coming off a midweek win of their own as they took down Purdue Fort Wayne 11-1 in eight innings. Home runs from Sam Busch and Nick Williams led the offense for the Spartans, while a six-innings, six strikeout performance on the mound by Aaron Mishoulam quieted the Mastodon offense. Dillion Kark leads the Spartans in both batting average (.355) and RBI (18), while also having two home runs so far this season. Busch leads the team with four home runs on the season and has 12 RBI through the squad's first 18 games. The trio of Garrett Brewer, Gannon Grundman, and Hunter Long lead the Spartans pitching staff with an 0.00 ERA respectively. Joseph Dzierwa and Nick Powers lead the starting rotation as both pitchers have two wins on the year in five starts.

• A team with a penchant for the dramatic, the Terrapins currently hold a 5-1 record this season in one-run games.
• Both of the team's wins last weekend over Portland were of the one-run variety, with the Terps defeating the Pilots 9-8 on March 16 and 7-6 on March 17.
• The Terps won just seven one-run games during the 2023 season, holding a record of 7-4 on such occasions.

Eddie Hacopian helped key a late rally in Maryland's 7-6 win over Portland on Sunday, to give the Terps the series win. So far this season, the Terrapins are 5-1 in one-run games and won only seven such contests during the 2023 season.

• A moniker bestowed to the team this season for its late game rallies, the Terrapins have won five games in their final at bats.

- Sacrifice fly by Sam Hojnar in the ninth inning on opening day to give the Terps a 5-4 win over Georgia Southern (Feb. 16)
- Three runs in the ninth inning to secure a 7-5 win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Feb. 23).
- A three-run top of the ninth to come back on the road against Mount St. Mary's to win 6-4 (Mar. 12).
- RBI double by Jacob Orr in the top of the ninth to even series against Portland with 9-8 win (Mar. 16).
- Five-run bottom of the eighth to break 4-4 tie with James Madison (Mar. 19).

• Maryland has outscored its opponents by a wide margin in late inning situations.
• In the eighth inning or later, The Terps are outscoring their opponents by a margin of 41-14.
• The Terps have scored three or more runs in the eighth and ninth innings seven times this season. The most in the eighth inning came in their 14-3 win over Mount St. Mary's on February 20 when they scored six-runs in the eighth inning. Their second-most runs in either inning came in their most recent win over James Madison, where the Terrapins erupted for a five-run bottom of the eighth to break a 4-4 tie.

Chris Hacopian's grand slam in Tuesday's win over James Madison helped Maryland to a five-run bottom of the eighth to break a 4-4 tie. That inning continues a trend for the Terps this season, as they have outscored their opponents 41-14 in the eighth inning or later.

• Jacob Orr continued his strong start to the 2024 season against Portland. After not playing in the first game of the series, Orr got the start in both wins in game two and three and paced the Terrapins offense.
• Orr finished the weekend going 7-10 with three doubles and five RBI. In Maryland's 9-8 win over Portland on March 16, Orr went 3-5 with two doubles and a season-high four RBI. In Orr's final at-bat, he drove in the game-winning run on his second double of the contest. Each hit that Orr had in Saturday's win drove in a run. Orr followed that performance with a career-high four hits, and another RBI double. 
• Orr currently leads the team with a .379 batting average and is the tied for 11th-best in the Big Ten. Orr's on-base percentage of .514 ranks fourth in the Big Ten, with a home run and 12 RBI.

Jacob Orr went 7-10  in two games during the weekend series against Portland. Orr had three doubles and drove in five runs. Orr currently leads the Terps with a .393 batting average, pairing it with a home run and 12 RBI

• Transfer right-hander Logan Koester has made his mark on the Terrapins weekend rotation in his first five starts. Koester has a 4-0 record with 2.79 ERA in 29.0 innings.
• The last Terrapins' starting pitcher to begin their Terps career with four straight wins was Jason Savacool in 2021. The Terps have won all five games that Logan Koester has started so far this year and has not allowed more than three earned runs in his five starts.

Logan Koester has a 4-0 record in his first season with the Terps. The last Terrapin starting pitcher to start his career with the team by winning his first four starts was Jason Savacool in 2021.

• The Terrapins pitching staff has ten saves to begin the season. That mark is the most in the Big Ten and ranks in the top five nationally. The Terrapins had 19 saves during the 2023 season, but in their first 20 games only had four.
• Nate Haberthier, Omar Melendez, Trystan Sarcone, and Alex Walsh lead the team with two saves this season, while Duke McCarron and Logan Berrier each have one.
• Five of the ten saves this season have come with the pitcher going at least three or more innings. Both of Melendez's saves have been for three or more innings, with his second being a four inning save against Delaware on Mar. 5, 2023. This marks the second consecutive year that a Terrapins pitcher has had a four inning save, with Nate Haberthier picking up a four inning save in Maryland's 4-0 win over Albany on Mar. 19, 2023.
• Both McCarron and Sarcone each have a three inning save. McCarron's three inning save came in Maryland's 14-5 win over Georgetown on Feb. 27, while Sarcone's came in Maryland's 8-3 win over Bryant on March 1. Haberthier picked up a three inning save during Maryland's 13-2 win over Charlotte on March 10.

Alex Walsh picked up two saves during the past week, with the first against Mount St. Mary's on March 12 being the first of his collegiate career

• Three Hacopians have donned the Maryland uniform. Currently brothers Eddie and Chris feature for the Terps in 2024. The one to get it all started was the patriarch of the family, Derek. Derek Hacopian was the ACC Player of the Year in 1992 for the Terrapins
• Derek Hacopian held the single-season record for home runs for a Terp with 22, which he set in 1992. That record stood for 30 years, before Chris "Bubba" Alleyne in 2022. Hacopian hit for the triple crown in 1992, also finishing that year with 83 RBI (2nd most all-time in program history) and a .492 batting average (3rd all-time).
• Eddie Hacopian made his debut for the Terps during the 2023 season. He finished his first year in College Park with a .328 batting average, eight home runs and 49 RBI. Eddie currently has a batting average of .333 with a home run and 20 RBI.
• Chris Hacopian rounds out the list, as the freshman made his debut for the Terps this season during the opening weekend series against Georgia Southern. Chris currently leads the team with six home runs through the team's first 21 games, while also leading the team with 21 RBI.
• Chris has driven in Eddie to score on multiple occasions. To this point in the season, Chris has driven in Eddie five times to score.

Chris Hacopian has had a strong start to his Maryland career. Hacopian leads the team with six home runs and has also leads the team with 21 RBI.