By Trevor Gomes
Maryland baseball has had a penchant for producing in clutch moments this season. In Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader against Boston College, the Terps showed up early.
A six-run first inning was all Maryland needed to secure a commanding 8-1 win in the first game of a weekend series in Chestnut Hill.
In likely his final home start, Boston College starter John West allowed three hits in the first frame. He also hit two batters and walked two others. Five of West’s six first-inning runs were unearned.
Omar Melendez got the start and kept the struggling Boston College bats quiet. The left-hander drew weak contact with his repertoire of off-speed pitches and setups with his fastball. Melendez tossed the first complete game for Maryland since 2022, giving up only four hits and one run in seven innings.
“[Melendez] takes the weight off the other guys,” coach Matt Swope said. “Really proud of him and he’s done a great job filling that role midseason.”
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The second game of the doubleheader was also marked by a single inning carrying the offensive load for the Terps. But Maryland claimed the victory much less handily, 5-3, and was forced to escape several high-leverage situations.
The early innings were much less eventful in Game 2, with the game remaining scoreless through two innings. AJ Colarusso retired six of the first seven Terps he faced. Then came the third inning.
Colarusso gave up a walk and three consecutive singles, capped off by a Chris Hacopian two-run knock, to give Maryland a 2-0 lead with no outs in the third. After a throwing error brought in the third run, Jacob Orr followed up with another single to drive in the fourth run of the inning.
Logan Koester allowed only two runs in a quality five-inning outing. But the first of a few close calls for Maryland came in the fifth.
With runners in scoring position and two outs, Nick Wang popped up to foul territory in right field. Eddie Hacopian and Orr both tracked it, but Orr called him off and raced toward the bullpen wall to secure the out and escape the jam.
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Kenny Lippman replaced Koester in the sixth frame. Lippman has found success transitioning away from a starting role but had a rocky beginning to his outing Saturday. He walked the first two batters he faced before a bunt put men on second and third.
Lippman retired the next two Eagles to battle out of the hole — the story of Game 2 for the Terps.
“There was never a moment where I felt like [the pitching staff was] overwhelmed,” Orr said. “Whenever runners were on, they seemed to just work out of every situation.”
In the ninth, Lippman passed the baton to Logan Berrier, Maryland’s ERA leader at 2.70.
Entering Saturday, Berrier had only walked 12 batters in 40 innings pitched. When Maryland needed him most, he issued three walks in a row to make it a 5-3 game with the bases loaded and one out.
Swope called the first mound visit of the day and allowed Berrier to compose himself. The redshirt senior promptly struck out the final two batters to secure his seventh save of the season.
“Really impressive … after having a rough patch to just have that maturity and still stick it through and get the save for us,” Swope said.
Maryland, who came into the weekend ranked No. 31 in RPI, will look to complete the series sweep on Sunday. Another win and a strong performance next weekend against Penn State could be the deciding factor in the Terps’ hopes of an at-large NCAA tournament bid.
