Jacob Orr didn’t start in Friday’s two-run loss at Portland. His performances the next two days lifted Maryland baseball to a series victory over the Pilots.
Orr delivered the game-winning RBI Saturday night, lacing a double into left field in the ninth. He picked up where he left off Sunday afternoon.
The outfielder lined a double down the right field line and gave enough time for Kevin Keister to jog home in the second inning, then singled in the middle of a four-run eighth frame that put the Terps ahead late and punctuated a 4-for-5 day at the plate.
Orr’s dominant Sunday contributed to Maryland’s 7-6 victory over Portland, clinching the series win. It is the fifth weekend set won by the Terps to open the 2024 season and gives Maryland its 15th win in just 20 games.
“When I recruited Jacob, this is what he was,” coach Matt Swope said. “He was a hit machine. He was always on base. He was pesky. He was hard to get out.”
Maryland’s five-run lead Saturday night quickly evaporated in the eighth inning when the Pilots tied the game. Orr’s well-timed hit followed Matt Swope’s first ejection in the same frame — contesting a strike call on a check swing from Sam Hojnar.
[Maryland baseball’s bats go quiet in 5-3 loss to Portland]
Orr has only started in 14 of 20 games, yet leads the Terps with a .393 batting average. The junior has provided game-altering swings before — he hit the game-winning RBI in Maryland’s opening day win over Georgia Southern.
Portland briefly took the lead in both the fifth and sixth innings. The Terps responded with a solo home run from Hojnar and the four-run eighth inning to claim the win.
Elijah Lambros started the spurt with a double into left center, bringing in Orr and Keister. Eddie Hacopian laid a bunt that dribbled past third base and scored Devin Russell. Hojnar completed the frame with a bases-loaded hit by pitch.
“I truly believe that when you’re winning culture, guys never believe they’re out of it,” Swope said. “It’s contagious. And the guys are always pulling for each other.”
Alex Walsh closed the last two innings for Maryland and limited the Pilots to one run. Freshman Joey McMannis surrendered three runs in five innings before Sarcone gave up a two-run blast in the sixth, which gave Portland a lead until the eighth.
Chris Hacopian didn’t need long to start Maryland’s scoring in the first — it only took the freshman two pitches.
[As Maryland baseball’s go-to midweek starter, Ryan Van Buren has a newfound confidence]
Hacopain deposited a fastball over the center field fence and trotted around the bases. He smacked Swope’s hand as he rounded third and met a herd of teammates as he entered the dugout. The pack united in mid-air to celebrate his fifth home run of the season, which leads the Terps.
“I was just getting good pitches and just trying to be aggressive,” Hacopian said.
Hacopian, who was committed to Wake Forest since his freshman year at Winston Churchill but flipped to Maryland last summer, has made an immediate impact since joining the Terps. He’s recorded the fourth-most RBIs on the team and entered the game with the second-highest slugging percentage just 19 games into his college career.
The well-timed hits for Maryland prevented its first series loss since last February ahead of next week’s Big Ten opener against Michigan State.