Maryland baseball relied on strong starting pitching efforts to secure the first two wins of the weekend against Bryant, but the Terps leaned on their long reliever to claim a series sweep Sunday.
Logan Berrier entered for the top of the third inning with bases loaded and only one out after freshman Joey McMannis’ underwhelming first start. The Bulldogs threatened to add onto their early two-run lead. Berrier slowed their outburst to a halt.
The right-hander retired the next two batters to escape the jam and keep Maryland in reach. Berrier held Bryant scoreless for the next three innings, allowing the Terps’ offense to claim a lead in the fourth inning.
That advantage shrunk as the rest of Maryland’s bullpen struggled, but the middle inning explosion was ultimately enough in a 11-7 Terps victory. The win in Sunday’s series finale pushes Maryland, which has yet to lose a weekend set, to 9-3.
“Stopping the bleeding right there, getting us a chance to add on right there. That was huge,” coach Matt Swope said. “That was literally the game.”
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After Berrier got out of the third inning, his strong performance continued for another three frames. The right-hander surrendered only three hits, recorded no walks and struck out three. Berrier retired all three batters in the sixth inning and handed his team’s six-run lead to the rest of the bullpen.
The redshirt senior transferred to Maryland this offseason after four years at Longwood.
Berrier’s tossed 11 ⅔ innings out of the bullpen, which leads Terps relievers and has surrendered just three runs across four appearances. His efforts have equipped Maryland with a dependable reliever who can cover multiple innings.
“Every time he comes into the game, it’s kind of like a deep breath almost,” Alex Calarco said. “He’s got that calm, cool collected. Whenever I see him coming, I get a little excited.”
Meade Johnson, who started the previous two Sunday contests, allowed two runs in less than an inning after entering for Berrier. Garrett French entered in the seventh to close the frame for Johnson, but gave up a two-run home run on his first pitch.
McMannis struggled in 2 ⅓ innings of his first collegiate start. The Bulldogs recorded three runs in the span, including a two-run homer by Gavin Noriega in the third frame. McMannis pitched six scoreless innings of relief leading into his start, which prompted Swope to insert him into the weekend rotation.
As the bullpen crumbled around him, Berrier’s success on the mound gave the Terps time to earn back runs.
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Maryland tied the game in the fourth with hits by Alex Calarco and Ben Nardi. Calarco crushed a solo home run, his third of the season, while Nardi roped an RBI double into left field for his first hit of the season in his first start.
Chris Hacopian regained his team’s lead with a groundout that scored Eddie Hacopian in the fourth inning. Elijah Lambros added to Maryland’s lead with a bases-loaded walk in the fifth.
Maryland broke the game open with a four-run sixth inning. Scoring started when Jacob Orr crossed home on a bases-loaded balk. Calarco added two more runs with a two-run single into left field before Lambros added an RBI single.
“We’ve been in this position multiple times already. It’s about character. It’s about coming together as a team,” Swope said.
Maryland added a pair of runs in the eighth before Alex Walsh closed the game with a scoreless ninth inning to give the Terps’ their first series sweep of 2024.
