The Terps scored nine runs in the eighth inning.
Maryland baseball exploded in the bottom of the eighth inning against George Mason Tuesday, scoring nine runs on seven hits.
The frame began with a walk but quickly gained momentum, as Brayden Martin hit an RBI single and the flood gates opened. Five Terps saw the plate twice in the inning.
George Mason made a pitching change, but the damage had already been done. Maryland earned its fourth midweek victory of the season, 15-8.
“It feels good to go out there and hang 15 against anyone,” Hacopian said. “George Mason is a good team, it was a tough weekend for the bats but we came back and we bounced back and were ready to get rolling now.”
The Terps drove in 13 RBIs and walked eight times, finishing the game with a team a 1.206 OPS. On the mound, Andrew Johnson secured the win, pitching three innings and allowing just four hits and one run.
Despite George Mason recording 13 hits — including a double and home run — it managed only six RBIs. Maryland’s defense was solid, committing zero errors.
“We did play really good defense today,” head coach Matt Swope said. “Chris [Hacopian] … had two bare-hand plays that were absolutely elite, and then Colin [Gibbs] played really well short, so it was nice to see some complementary baseball.”
In the top of the first inning, George Mason wasted no time seizing an early lead. James Quinn singled through the right side, scoring Toby Hueber, who was followed by Owen Hull. Owen Clyne added a double to right-center field, scoring Lucas Albert and Andrew Raymo.
Meanwhile, Maryland produced a quiet first inning, leaving two runners stranded after Alex Calarco and Chris Hacopian both walked.
The Patriots added two more runs in the second inning, as Quinn homered to left field. They headed into the bottom half of the inning up 6-0.
But the Terps didn’t back down. In the bottom of the second inning, Hollis Porter led the charge, homering to right-center field and chipping the Patriots’ lead to five. Colin Gibbs followed with a groundout, which allowed Aden Hill to score. Brayden Martin then added an RBI, bringing home Elijah Lambros. Chris Hacopian closed the scoring, driving home Martin and cutting the deficit to two runs.
“I think we punched back early on, we did a good job doing that,” Swope said. “We need to do a good job at being consistent there in the middle innings”
George Mason went down in order in the third inning. Meanwhile, Maryland added another run, as Lambros singled to the pitcher and scored Jacob Orr.
George Mason responded in the fifth inning, though, as Clyne hit an RBI single to center field. It continued the scoring barrage in the seventh inning, as Albert singled to shortstop to score Quinn.
Maryland scored one run in the seventh inning, before its monsoon in the eighth to take the lead and secure the win.
Three things to know
1. George Mason aided the Terps’ offense. The Patriots walked a batter and hit two in the eighth, assisting Maryland’s monster nine-run inning. They finished with eight walks on the day to the Terps’ four.
2. Clutch performances. Lambros, Hill and Martin each recorded crucial RBIs in the comeback, with Lambros’ bunt single and Hill’s double driving in important runs in the eighth inning.
3. Pitching shift. Despite struggles earlier in the game, Maryland’s pitchers — including Andrew Koshy and Brayden Ryan, who earned the win — settled in after early runs. The Terps also prevented a George Mason comeback, holding it scoreless in the final two innings.