Andrew Johnson took the mound at 2 p.m. Saturday to close Maryland baseball’s game against Princeton, earning the save with two strikeouts.

Four hours later, the senior returned against No. 12 Wake Forest, tasked with protecting a one-run lead in the ninth.

With runners on second and third, Johnson recorded the final two outs, sealing a 9-8 victory over the Demon Deacons (9-2).

Johnson’s second save of the day capped a three-run, ninth-inning comeback for the Terps (6-4) in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After entering the weekend below .500 following Tuesday’s loss to Delaware, the Terps reeled off three straight wins  — twice against Princeton and once against Wake Forest — to get two games above the mark.

“[We] kept coming and kept coming and kept coming. And even when things weren’t working out, the energy was great,” coach Matt Swope said.

[Freshman Jake Yeager flashed potential in first Maryland baseball start]

Pitching coach Jimmy Jackson described Johnson as being in a completely different mental space than previous seasons. He witnessed the senior flash a new form of self-confidence. 

The left-hander held a career 5.20 ERA entering 2025. One of his career-defining moments to that point was a failed start in the season-ending loss to UConn in the 2022 NCAA regionals, where he surrendered four earned runs and walked four batters.

The senior’s ERA sat above five in each of the past two seasons. But he’s emerged as a pivotal piece to Maryland’s bullpen this year. Johnson currently holds a 2.84 ERA and has tossed four straight scoreless outings. His pair of saves on Saturday were his first of the year.

“AJ has been, to me, a world of different, he’s like a whole other guy mentally,” Jackson said in January. “He finally believes that he’s really, really good.”

The Terps opened the second leg of Saturday’s doubleheader with a 5-0 lead, but the advantage quickly evaporated after pitcher Joey McMannis had apparent back pain while warming up for the third inning. Maryland had no update on McMannis’ injury, according to a team spokesperson.

Redshirt sophomore Brayden Ryan surrendered five earned runs in relief of McMannis and was pulled without logging an out in the third inning. Maryland surrendered two more runs with sophomore right-hander Andrew Koshy on the mound, entering the sixth inning with an 8-6 deficit. A Hollis Porter solo shot accounted for its lone run after McMannis’ departure until the ninth inning.

[Maryland baseball collapses, loses series rubber-match to Western Carolina, 11-9]

Ryan Van Buren limited the Demon Deacons to one unearned run and three hits in four innings after Koshy’s appearance, keeping the Terps in reach. 

Michael Iannazzo and Colin Gibbs both struck out to begin the ninth inning — putting the Terps in a two-out hole. 

Brayden Martin began the rally effort with a walk, followed by an Eddie Hacopian single and an error by Demon Deacons pitcher Zach Johnston — which sent Martin to third.

Alex Calarco and Porter knocked a pair of RBI singles to tie the game at eight, before Jacob Orr dropped an RBI single into right field to give Maryland its first lead since the third inning. In his first start of the year, Orr finished 4-6 with three RBIs and two runs. 

“Having that offense behind you, you always have confidence that you can come back and win this thing,” Van Buren said.

Maryland was without Chris Hacopian for both games of Saturday’s doubleheader.  The shortstop exited Friday’s 17-1 win over the Tigers and did not play on Saturday. Maryland Baseball Network’s broadcast described his absence as a “rest day.” Hacopian is batting a Big Ten-best .577 with three home runs and 21 RBIs to begin the year. 

The Terps took the first two games of the weekend against Princeton, 17-1 and 10-7. Kyle McCoy tied a career-high nine strikeouts in Friday’s game, backed by a four-home run performance from Maryland — including two from Aden Hill. Six different Terps recorded hits in the first game of Saturday’s double-header.

The Terps could improve to three games above .500 with another meeting against Wake Forest tomorrow.

“After a win like that, and the way we stuck together and we kept coming,” Swope said, “you don’t have to say anything to these guys to get fired up for tomorrow.”