Chris Hacopian’s first hit as Terp went a long way. The freshman planted his left foot into the ground and launched a two-run home run into left-center field.
The third baseman jogged around the bases before meeting his older brother, Eddie Hacopian, at home plate and embracing in midair. The hit put Maryland baseball on the board in Saturday’s series-clinching victory over Georgia Southern.
Chris Hacopian was one of 14 Terps who made their Maryland debut over the weekend against the Eagles. Maryland will lean heavily on those newcomers this year and the opening series provided a glimpse into their potential impacts.
Each of Maryland’s games featured at least four new players. The Terps won the first two games but failed to clinch the sweep.
Junior designated hitter Alex Calarco, a transfer from Northwestern, went 4-for-12. He launched his first home run as a Terp over Georgia Southern’s tall right field wall during Saturday’s 7-1 win.
“He has such tremendous, prodigious power. We’ve been waiting for that,” coach Matt Swope said.
[Maryland baseball overcomes three-run hole to beat Georgia Southern, 5-4, in season opener]
The Terps also got a commanding performance out of the bullpen by freshman Joey McMannis on Saturday. The right-hander tossed four scoreless innings, allowed one hit, struck out two and got the win in his collegiate debut. Trystan Sarcone closed the win with a hitless ninth inning.
Redshirt senior transfer Logan Berrier preceded the performance with five innings of relief in Maryland’s 5-4 win Friday night. Berrier struck out six and retired his last seven batters as the Terps rallied to secure Swope’s first victory as head coach.
“It’s a lot of fun playing [defense] behind those guys,” Chris Hacopian said. “They work fast. They work in the zone, and I think that’s the big part. They just attacked hitters all day.”
George Washington transfer Logan Koester allowed only one run in his start Saturday, striking out two in four innings. He and returner Kenny Lippman, who didn’t allow an earned run in his start Friday, strung together strong performances for Maryland’s rebuilt starting rotation.
That success halted in the Terps’ 7-3 loss on Sunday.
[Matt Swope could coach anywhere. But he’s never wanted to leave Maryland baseball.]
Junior right-hander Meade Johnson made his first start in a Maryland uniform after spending the past two years at Heartland Community College. He sported a 15-1 record the last two seasons but struggled in his first shot at the higher level.
Johnson surrendered five earned runs and walked five batters in just 3⅓ innings of work. Fifth-year transfer Alex Walsh followed with 2⅔ innings but conceded two runs and was pulled in the seventh inning after allowing a home run and single in consecutive at-bats.
“We’re going to need those guys to play. We’re not going to shy away from putting them in the game,” Swope said.
The loss also highlighted miscommunication within the reshaped Terps defense.
On Sunday, outfielder Jacob Orr fumbled a ground ball. He compounded the mistake by throwing the ball to second base, giving Georgia Southern’s Luke Odden time to sprint home from third base.
In the first inning of Saturday’s game, second baseman Sam Hojnar made two errors on consecutive plays. He and Eddie Hacopian also let a routine infield fly drop between them on Friday.
Heading into the series finale, Chris Hacopian said his team needed to maintain their energy. They didn’t, according to Swope.
“I really wasn’t pleased with the effort coming out today trying to get the sweep,” the coach said after Sunday’s loss, one that denied Maryland’s reshaped roster a perfect start to the season.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated that Alex Calarco batted 4-for-9 in Maryland’s first series. Calarco went 4-for-12 in the series. This story has been updated.
