Sam Hojnar’s initial collegiate stops didn’t include Maryland baseball. Hojnar spent one season each at Southern Illinois and Heartland Community College, and played the past two years at Iowa.
But Hojnar has turned into an impact piece for Maryland this season — blasting two home runs against Illinois on Sunday to give him a team-leading 12.
The pair of home runs led the Terps’ in a 11-7 win over the Illini at home in the series rubber match, earning the series victory. The win broke Maryland’s four-weekend losing streak — its longest since 2017.
“It’s a big series win for the guys and hopefully it propels us moving forward into the rest of the season,” coach Matt Swope said.
The skid included series losses against Michigan, Indiana, Northwestern and Nebraska, with a pair of midweek losses to Georgetown and UMBC. The Terps (28-17, 8-10 Big Ten) ended the slump winning two of three against the Illini (25-15, 11-4 Big Ten), who entered College Park as the top team in the Big Ten standings.
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Hojnar transferred to Maryland for his final collegiate season — his tenure in Iowa City ended as the Hawkeyes didn’t have enough scholarship money to offer the second baseman.
Following a failed effort to raise funds through Name, Imageness and Likeness, Hojnar committed to Maryland. The second baseman leads the Terps in RBIs since transferring, and is batting a career-best .302 after his 3-4 game.
“I didn’t expect to get a good offer from a school like Maryland. So it’s really exciting to come here,” Hojnar said. “It was really easy to see myself playing for a staff like this.”
Chris Hacopian hit the first of Maryland’s three home runs against Illinois on Sunday. The first-inning solo shot was his 11th this season. Like Hojnar, the freshman similarly didn’t plan on initially playing at Maryland.
Hacopian decommitted from Wake Forest in April last year while the Deacons were ranked No. 1 in the country. His reasoning was simple: stay home in Maryland and play with his older brother, Eddie.
The brothers rank first and second on the Terps in batting average, with Eddie Hacopian hitting a team-high .399 after his 2-4 performance in the series finale. The older Hacopian recorded three-RBIs in the first three innings following his brother’s home run, part of a seven-run effort in the span.
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Brayden Martin notched an RBI-double in the first inning to extend Maryland’s lead to 2-0. Devin Russell’s run-scoring single in the third grew the advantage to four runs.
“Relentless yesterday and relentless all day today, I’m really happy with the offensive performance,” Swope said.
Joey McMannis protected the lead, surrendering just one run in the opening three frames. The right hander struggled to retire batters the next two frames as three Illini runners crossed home, but Maryland still led by three following the fifth inning, the freshman’s last on the mound.
McMannis struck out four in his start — a rebound from last week’s three-inning start against Nebraska. The Cornhuskers piled eight runs against McMannis in the Terps’ loss.
Sunday’s victory against Illinois earned McMannis his first win of the season.
Evan Smith held the Illini scoreless for his first two innings in relief of McMannis, then conceded a three-RBI in the eighth to trim Maryland’s lead to one.
Logan Berrier held Illinois scoreless in the ninth to secure the victory and the Terps’ first series win in over a month.
