Maryland (29-17, 8-10 B1G) at Rutgers (25-19, 3-12 B1G)
May 3-5, 2024
Bainton Field
6:00, 12:00, 1:00 p.m.
B1G+, BTN
COLLEGE PARK, MD -- The Maryland baseball program is back on the road in conference play, as they take on Rutgers. The Terrapins are coming off a road midweek win over Towson, where they hit four home runs in a comeback effort in a 13-8 win. This is the second consecutive year the two teams have met, with the Terps taking two of three at home against Rutgers last season. Game one and three will be streamed on B1G+, with game two airing on Big Ten Network. All three games will air on the Maryland Baseball Network.
Where We Are
- Maryland (29-17, 8-10 B1G) comes into this weekend series after a midweek win over Towson on Tuesday.
- After falling behind 7-2 after the second inning, the Terps would score five runs in the top of the third in part due to three home runs.
- With the game later tied at eight apiece, the Terps would have their second three run inning of the game in the eighth to take a 13-8 lead. Andrew Johnson finished off the game in the ninth to get his first win of the season.
- The Terps are also coming off their Big Ten series win over Illinois at home who sits in first place in the conference.
- After dropping the first game of the series against Illinois, the Terps would take the final two games of the three game set by a score of 9-8 on April 27 and 11-7 on April 28.
Series History
- Maryland and Rutgers have met 33 times in the series, with the Terps holding the advantage in the match-up with a record of 21-11-1. The two teams met last season in College Park, with the Terps taking the three-game series. The Terps took the first two games of the series 6-4 and 4-3, with Rutgers taking the final game 14-8.
About The Scarlet Knights
Steady Eddie
- Junior Eddie Hacopian has seen his average increase in the last couple of weeks. Hacopian's average sits at .388, which is the fourth-best batting average in the Big Ten. Hacopian's 69 hits on the year rank in the top 25 in Division I and second in the Big Ten.
- Hacopian has hits in 25 of his last 28 games, where he has a batting average of .409 with six homers, 24 RBI, with an on base percentage of .496.
- Hacopian had a hitting streak of 11 games snapped in the first game of their series against Nebraska over the weekend. The 11-game hitting streaked tied the longest for a Terrapin this season, with Elijah Lambros having an 11-game hitting streak earlier this season.
- In addition to his high average, Hacopian gets on base at a high clip as well. The junior infielder has an on base percentage of .491 which is the fifth-best in the conference, as evident by his 33 walks to only 23 strikeouts on the season.
Eddie Hacopian has been swinging a hot bat of late for the Terps. The junior has hits in 25 of his last 28 games, where he is hitting for a .409 average with six homers and 24 RBI.
The Cardiac Terps
- A moniker bestowed to the team this season for its late game rallies. The Terrapins have won 11 games in their final at bats:
- 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 75-39.
- The late-inning dramatics don't stop there, with the Terps also having 16 comeback wins so far this season.
- The Terps have scored three or more runs in the eighth and ninth innings eight 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. The Terps had another five-run inning in their come from behind win over Michigan on Friday, Mar. 29. Four of the five runs scored in the Michigan comeback were also scored with two outs.
Kevin Keister came up big for the Terps on April 7 with a walk-off single to give them a 6-5 win. This was the fourth walk-off for the Terps on the season, while also their 10th win in their final at-bat and 13th comeback win on the year.
Hojnar Driving in Runs in Bunches
- Sam Hojnar continues to be one of the consistent run producers in Terrapins lineup. Since the start of conference play, Hojnar had been hitting .352 with 11 home runs, 35 RBI, and a slugging percentage of .724.
- Hojnar has had game with six RBI on two occasions this season. The first time came in Maryland's 13-12 win over UMBC on Apr. 3, with Hojnar also walking off the game. The second came just a week later, with Hojnar drove in six runs on the road against Georgetown in a game where he hit two home runs.
- Hojnar currently has a team leading 53 RBI on the season and leads the team with 14 home runs. The 14 home runs for Hojnar are a career-high for the redshirt senior. His 14 home runs are also the second-most in the Big Ten, while his 53 RBI are the third-most in the conference.
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Hojnar had consecutive games with two or more home runs in a game, hitting two against Illinois on April 28 and Towson on Apri. 30. Hojnar became the first Terp to hit two or more home runs in consecutive games since Matt Shaw, who hit three home runs against Michigan on May 14 and two against Michigan on May 15 of 2022.
Sam Hojnar has been a consistent force in the Terrapins lineup. The junior second baseman leads the team with 14 home runs and 53 RBI. Hojnar's 14 home runs are a career-high for the junior and the second-most in the Big Ten
Agent zero
- One of the bright spots in the bullpen for the Terps has been Longwood transfer Logan Berrier. The redshirt senior has a 7-1 record with four saves, a 2.70 ERA, 34 strikeouts, in 36 innings across 16 appearances.
- Berrier's seven wins on the season are tied for the18th-most in Division I and tied for the most in the Big Ten.
- Berrier began the season with a 7-0 record, becoming the first Terps pitcher to start a season with a record of 7-0 or better since Kansas City Royals prospect Ryan Ramsey began the 2022 season with a 10-0 record.
Logan Berrier has had a strong start to his Terrapins career. The righty leads the team with a 7-1 record and has a 2.70 ERA. Berrier's seven wins are tied for the 18-most in Division I this season.
You Only Need One
- A team with a penchant for the dramatic, the Terrapins currently hold a 12-3 record this season in one-run games. The 12 wins the Terps have this season is a program record for wins in one-run games in a single-season.
- The Terps added their fourth walk-off win on Sunday in a 6-5 win over Indiana. This was their second walk-off of the week, with the other coming in in their 13-12 win over UMBC on April 3. The other two walk-offs for the Terps came in their Big Ten opening series against Michigan State where they got wins of 7-6 on March 22 and 5-4 on March 24.
- The Terps have already eclipsed their win total in one-run games from last season, with them holding a record of 7-4 on such occasions in 2023.
- Most One-Run Wins In Program History
1. 2024: 12 (12-3)
2. 2006: 11 (11-3)
3. 2022: 9 (9-1)
2013: 9 (9-7)
2012: 9 (9-7)
4. 2017: 8 (8-4)
2014: 8 (8-2)
1988: 8 (8-2)
The Terps have a penchant for winning close games.
Brayden Martin has been a key force in those one-run games, as the freshman has two walk-offs on the year that have led to Terrapin wins.
Not You Average Freshman
- Chris Hacopian has been a mainstay in the Maryland lineup for the entire season. The freshman infielder has started in 44 games this season, hitting for a .324 average with 12 home runs and 35 RBI.
- Hacopian is beginning to climb up the program record books for a freshman. The most recent being his 12 home runs this season. Hacopian's 12 home runs tied him with Kyle Rockefeller for the third most home runs in a freshman season in program history, and the most since Maxwell Costes' 15 home runs in 2019.
- Maryland Freshman Home Run Leaders
- Jason Maxey - 17 (2002)
- Maxwell Costes - 15 (2019)
- Chris Hacopian - 12 (2024)
- Kyle Rockefeller - 12 (1997)
Chris Hacopian has been an important piece of the Terrapins' season, and is starting to make his way up the Maryland freshman lists. Chris hit his 12th home run of the season in Maryland's 13-8 win over Towson on April 30, and now tied for third in program history for home runs as a freshman.
Walk It Out
- As a team, the Terrapins have walked a total of 233 times to begin the season. Their 233 walks currently rank as the third-most in the Big Ten.
- Three Terps rank in the top 20 in the Big Ten in walks this year, with junior Eddie Hacopian tied for sixth in the conference with 33. Next is senior and team captain Kevin Keister, whose 29 walks on the year rank as the 11th-most in the Big Ten. Jacob Orr closes out the list for the Terps, as the junior is tied for 19th in the Big Ten with 26 walks in 2024.
Junior
Jacob Orr is one of three Terps that rank in the top 20 in the conference in walks on the season. Orr has 26 walks in 2024, which is tied for the 19th-most in the Big Ten
