Clutch plays by Sam Hojnar and Elijah Lambros allowed the Terps to avoid a sweep.
Maryland baseball took a 9-8 lead in the top of the 10th inning when Sam Hojnar hit an opposite-field solo home run. But the Terps’ late-game magic wasn’t over yet.
In the bottom of the inning, Owen McElfatrick sent a fly ball to center field that looked destined to tie the game. But Elijah Lambros rose up and robbed a home run to clinch a 9-8 victory for Maryland, which avoided a sweep.
Maryland had a commanding 8-4 lead in the late innings, but Omar Melendez allowed Northwestern to tie the game in the eighth inning.
Alex Colarco led off Maryland’s ninth with a double, but the Terps were unable to bring him in. Northwestern loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth, but Evan Smith miraculously worked himself out of a jam. Smith saved the Terps from getting swept and set the stage for the 10th.
The Terps got out to an early lead. After Chris Hacopian worked a leadoff walk, his brother, Eddie, hit a two-run home run. Maryland scored another in the second inning when Devin Russell hit a double to drive in Lambros.
Joey McMannis took the bump on Sunday for Maryland and worked a scoreless first inning, but saw his team’s 3-0 lead disappear. Eventually, in the third inning, Northwestern’s Trent Liolios brought in a run with a groundout off McMannis to give the Wildcats a 4-3 lead.
McMannis went five innings, giving up five hits and only two earned runs.
Maryland retook the lead in the fifth, with Kevin Keister hitting an RBI single and Brayden Martin bringing another home with a bunt single. The Terps got their sixth run when Michael Iannazzo grounded into a double play, allowing Keister to score.
Eddie Hacopian continued his monster day in the sixth, blasting his second two-run home run of the day. That brought Maryland’s lead to 8-4, but it was quickly undone before the Terps ultimately earned a dramatic win in the series finale.
Three things to know
1. Hacopian’s two homers. Eddie Hacopian had himself a day, hitting a pair of two-run home runs.
2. Melendez struggled to keep the ball in the yard. Melendez gave up three home runs in relief, which accounted for four of Northwestern’s runs. He has given up nine home runs on the season.
3. Late-game magic. While Sunday wasn’t a comeback win, Maryland needed clutch contributions to avoid what would’ve been a disastrous loss. Hojnar delivered the game-winning hit, and Lambros equaled him in the field.