CULLOWHEE, NC – Maryland baseball scored a school record 35 runs and racked up a school record 27 hits in nine innings as it defeated Western Carolina, 35-12, in game two of the series at Hennon Stadium on Saturday. The Terps are now 3-2 heading into the rubber match of the series tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Alex Calarco belted a grand slam in his third straight. The home run was the 13th of Calarco's career, giving him four in his last three games. He went 3-for-5 with six RBIs and two runs on the day. He has 19 RBIs to lead all NCAA Division I athletes through five games.
Calarco wasn't the only Terp to hit a grand slam. Paul Jones II also homered the first of his career. The pair of slams gives the Terps five grand slams in their first five games, as Chris Hacopian hit the first one in the season opener. In 2023, Maryland hit grand slams in each of its first three games and a national-best 11 grand slams, the third-most by any team in the history of collegiate baseball. Nick Lorusso and Ian Petrutz hit two that season.
Maryland plated a run in every inning, including a monster eight-run seventh inning. Twelve different Terps recorded a hit, and 13 different players drove in a run in the contest.
Hollis Porter had four RBIs on the day. He mashed a two-run home run to start the game's scoring in the first inning. It was the second of his career at the Division I level after transferring from Pearl River Community College. The homer was one of his four hits as he went 4-for-5 with four runs. His other two RBIs came on a double. He has recorded three consecutive multi-hit games.
Other standout performers were Eddie Hacopian (3-for-5, 5 runs, 3 RBIs), Chris Hacopian (3-for-4, 6 runs, 3 RBIs) and Michael Iannazzo (4-for-5, 3 RBIs, five runs). Hacopian's six runs scored are a school record.
Jacob Orr hit the Terps' fourth home run of the day. It was the seventh of his career and a two-run shot.
Colin Gibbs,
Liam Willson,
Elijah Lambros,
Brayden Martin,
EJ Hankerson and
Aden Hill also drove in runs. Gibbs' two-RBI single was the first hit of his career. Willson's two-RBI triple was his first hit as a Terp.
Jack Wren pitched four innings in relief, striking out two and allowing one run on just two hits. He earned his first win as a Terp.
Western Carolina (2-4) cycled through nine pitchers in the game.
Numbers To Know
- 1: Wren earned his first career win as a Terp.
- 1: Hankerson and Gibbs recorded their first collegiate hits.
- 1: Michael Iannazzo made his first start of the 2025 season.
- 1: Willson and Hill recorded their first career hits and RBIs in a Maryland uniform.
- 1: Jones hit his first career home run with a grand slam.
- 2: Porter hit his second career home run at the Division I level.
- 3: Porter had his third multi-hit game as a Terp, doing so consecutively.
- 4: Porter has an RBI in four of Maryland's first five games.
- 4: Calarco has four home runs in his last three games.
- 5: This is Maryland's fifth grand slam in five games.
- 5: Iannazzo recorded his fifth career multi-hit game.
- 6: Calarco has six three-hit games in his career. This was his second as a Terp.
- 7: Orr has seven home runs in his career.
- 11: The Terps have launched 11 home runs over the five games this season.
- 13: Chris Hacopian posted his 13th game with multiple RBIs.
- 17: Calarco has 17 home runs in his career, including nine as a Terp, with five this season.
- 19: Calarco leads the Terps with 19 RBIs through five games, tracking first in the country.
- 25: This was Chris Hacopian's 25th multi-hit game.
- 27: Calarco now has 27 multi-hit games in his career.
- 28: Maryland's 28 hits are a school record.
- 33: Maryland's 33 runs were a school record.
- 53: Eddie Hacopian recorded his 53rd multi-hit game as a Terp.
Up Next
- Maryland will play the rubber match of the three-game series against Western Carolina tomorrow, Feb. 23, at 1 p.m. The game will be aired on ESPN+ and Maryland Baseball Network.
