After outfielders Marty Costes and Zach Jancarski had extra-base hits in Maryland baseball’s 14-3 loss to VCU last week, coach Rob Vaughn said if the duo improves at the plate, the Terps’ batting order will get to where he hoped it would be this year.

While a three-game suspension prevented Costes from sustaining the momentum he built against the Rams, Jancarski continued. He went 4-for-12 in the team’s series against Purdue, scoring two runs and driving in four more.

An RBI double Saturday and a two-out, three-run homer Sunday were highlights from the sweep at the hands of the Boilermakers, offering a glimpse of what Jancarski supplied at the plate last year but has struggled to recreate as a senior.

“When you get that two-out knock, you can kind of exhale a little bit,” Jancarski said. “Especially when we haven’t really been able to get that recently.”

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As a junior, Jancarski led the team with 17 doubles and was second with a .325 batting average. While his 11 two-baggers this season are tied for the team high, his batting average has dipped to .250.

Jancarski’s decline is a major reason the lineup has failed to produce this year. After reaching an NCAA Regional with a .274 batting average in 2017, the team is hitting .232 and isn’t on pace for a repeat postseason appearance.

So following his double against VCU, Jancarski’s two-hit game in the series opener against Purdue offered hope for a lineup desperate for firepower. Vaughn moved Jancarski up to the five-hole in the final two matchups of the weekend.

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“Our quality at-bats were great,” Vaughn said after Friday’s game. “Guys ran off a pretty good plan at the plate. It was great to get Janc going again, great to get [left fielder Will Watson] going again. Just came up a little bit short in some situations we’re better than.”

In 2017, Jancarski was primarily the Terps’ leadoff hitter, but he started this season batting second behind Costes. When Costes slumped early in the year, Jancarski returned to the top of the lineup; after going 3-for-18 on the team’s spring break road trip, Jancarski was moved down in the order.

Jancarski’s three-run homer Sunday gave Maryland a four-run lead, but the Boilermakers came back to secure a sweep that pushed Maryland to 11th place in the conference.

For the Terps to reach the postseason, they will likely need to win the Big Ten tournament. With a struggling offense, such a turnaround will likely require more big hits from Jancarski.

“That was awesome early in the game to see Janc hit a towering homer,” starter Tyler Blohm said. “Even though we came up short, I’m proud of our hitters of what we did, and our approach is getting better and better.”