TOWSON, MD – The baseballs left John B. Schuerholz Park in a hurry during Maryland baseball's 13-8 comeback win over Towson on Tuesday. The Terps (29-17) belted four home runs in the game and secured their 16th comeback win. Maryland has also won four of its last five games.
Towson (10-34) captured a 7-2 lead in the second inning, but Maryland responded by crushing three of its home runs in the third inning to mount its comeback. The last time the Terps had three home runs in an inning was at Nebraska on April 26, 2023.
The Tigers tied the game at 8-8 in the seventh, but Sam Hojnar recorded an RBI single to bring in the go-ahead run in the eighth. The Terps added four more runs for insurance, and Andrew Johnson was awarded his first win of the season. He went four innings while surrendering just two hits and a run.
Hojnar continued his hot streak at the plate by adding two home runs on the day. It was his career's fourth multi-home run game, with three coming this season. Hojnar has also recorded multiple home runs in back-to-back games. The last Terp to accomplish that feat was Matt Shaw, who had three against Michigan on May 14, 2022 and two in the next game against the Wolverines on May 15.
Hojnar finished the day 3-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs. He leads the team with 14 home runs and has five home runs in his last four games.
Chris Hacopian hit his 12th of the season. He tied Kyle Rockefeller (1997) for the third-most home runs by a freshman in Maryland history.
Russell joined the home run party with his fifth of the season and tallied three RBIs. Michael Iannazzo (3-for-3), Elijah Lambros and Jacob Orr were the other Terps who drove in runs. Iannazzo finished a home run short of the cycle and also recorded three RBIs.
Swope's Take:
"We won, I mean it's as simple as that," Head Coach Matt Swope said. "I was trying to be as positive as I could. I thought the offense was relentless. We talked about scoring early, getting on top and punching early. We did that in the first, we did that in the second. Then I thought that pretty much was the game right there in the third, being able to come all the way back in one inning."
Hojnar On His Go-Ahead RBI Single
"Typically, I always try to just be ready to hit first pitch, and if I get a fastball over the plate, I'll just try to put my best swing on it. That's kind of the same thing that happened there. He just kind of left the fastball up in the zone that I was able to kind of get the barrel on it."
Breaking Down The Action
- Sam Hojnar continued his hot stretch at the plate, launching a home run to right field in the opening inning, giving Maryland an early one-run lead.
- Jordan Peyton responded with a solo home run of his own in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 1-1.
- Elijah Lambros broke the tie with an RBI groundout in the second.
- Towson took the lead in the bottom of the second, scoring six straight runs for a 7-2 lead. Peyton hit his second solo home run in the inning.
- Maryland responded by tying the game at 7-7 in the third inning, highlighted by three home runs. The first two were back-to-back by Hojnar and Chris Hacopian. Devin Russell's two-run homer was the tying homer. Michael Iannazzo also added an RBI with a sacrifice fly in the inning.
- Russell put Maryland ahead by a run in the fifth with an RBI groundout, leading 8-7.
- Lambros made a tremendous catch and throw out at home plate in the bottom of the fifth, keeping Towson from scoring any runs with loaded bases.
- Chris Akers tied the game up for the Tigers in the seventh, launching a solo shot to left field.
- The Terps retook the lead 13-8 in the eighth, led by Hojnar and Jacob Orr each hitting RBI singles and Iannazzo adding a two-run RBI double. Hojnar also reached home on a balk.
- Andrew Johnson finished out the game by recording the final three outs.
In The Record Books
- Chris Hacopian has 12 home runs, tied with Kyle Rockefeller (1997) for the third-most by a freshman in Maryland history. Maxwell Costes is second with 15 home runs in his freshman season.
- Kevin Keister drew two walks and has 111 in his career, ranking fourth in program history. Maxwell Costes (2019-22) is third with 116 in his career.
Numbers To Know
- 1: Andrew Johnson was awarded his first win of the season.
- 1: Michael Iannazzo hit his first career triple.
- 3: Iannazzo tied his career-high with three RBIs.
- 3: Maryland has three games on the season with four or more home runs.
- 3: Chris Hacopian is tied for the third most home runs by a freshman in program history.
- 3: Iannazzo has three multi-hit games in his freshman season.
- 4: Maryland has won four of its last five games.
- 4: Sam Hojnar has four multi-home run games in his career, including three this season and back-to-back games with multiple homers.
- 5: Hojnar has five home runs over his last four games.
- 6: Devin Russell has six career home runs, including five this season.
- 12: Hacopian hit his 12th home run of his freshman season.
- 13: Maryland has scored 10 or more runs in 13 games.
- 15: Maryland has 15 road wins on the season.
- 16: Maryland has 16 comeback wins this season.
- 24: Hojnar has 24 career home runs in his career, including 14 this season.
- 34: Hojnar recorded his 34th multi-hit game.
Up Next
- Maryland plays game one of its series at Rutgers on May 3. The first pitch is at 6:30 pm, and the game will be streamed on Big Ten Plus and Maryland Baseball Network.
