The Terps’ offense could not be denied.
Maryland baseball’s first seven games have been a roller coaster of emotions. From the bullpen blowing games to near-magnificent comebacks, the Terps have seen as many ups and downs as a team can have in seven games.
Their offense has been nothing short of electric. Through seven games, Maryland is scoring 12.7 runs per game (89 total), which is good for third in the nation and first in the Big Ten. Against Western Carolina last Saturday, Maryland put up a program-high 35 runs in a blowout win. Every player contributed to the victory, with twelve players recording a hit, highlighting the lineup’s depth and power.
Senior catcher Alex Calarco has been unstoppable this season, hitting .448 with six home runs and nation-leading 21 RBIs. He won Golden Spikes National Player of the Week after his dominant weekend at Western Carolina.
While Calarco has been on a tear, the rest of the Terps lineup has also done their part.
After a stellar freshman campaign, during which he was named to the All-Big Ten second team, sophomore shortstop Chris Haccopian has picked up right where he left off. He leads the team with a .542 batting average, tallying three home runs and 20 RBIs, and has provided the Terps with late-game heroics.
Against Western Carolina on Sunday, he hit a go-ahead grand slam in the ninth inning, and against Delaware, he drilled a bases-clearing double to center field to get the Terps within one run in the eighth inning after they trailed 11-3.
Team captain Eddie Hacopian has provided another spark to the Terps lineup. He is batting .333, scoring a team-high 13 runs while playing a new position at third base.
While Eddie’s offense hasn’t been an issue, the position change has affected the Terps, as their defense has been out of sorts with many new faces in new positions. Maryland ranks 265th out of 298 Division I teams with 13 defensive errors this season, the worst mark in the Big Ten.
“It’s nice to score runs, but if you can’t play defense and not playing all three phases, it doesn’t happen,” head coach Matt Swope said following the team’s 13-10 loss to a previously 1-5 Delaware team.
Along with defensive struggles, the pitching staff, specifically the bullpen, has experienced its own early-season struggles. Maryland has allowed 44 runs in its last four games, which comes as a surprise after pitching well in its first weekend series.
In their first three games, the Terps only gave up nine runs and scored 28, going 2-1 at the Swig and Swine College Classic. However, the new additions via the transfer portal and returners in the bullpen have not done their job since.
The pitching staff has a 5.40 combined ERA, picked up by the play of starters Kyle McCoy and Jack Wren. They are the only Maryland pitchers with more than five innings pitched and a sub-5.00 ERA — McCoy with a 0.90 in 10 innings and Wren with a 1.23 in 7.1 innings — and the bullpen has not backed them up.
Wake Forest transfer Andrew Koshy has made two appearances in late-game situations and has not performed well. In two innings pitched, Koshy has given up five earned runs, including the walk-off three-run homer in the rubber match against Western Carolina.
Along with Koshy, senior Ryan Van Buren has not lived up to his 5-0 record from last season. So far, he has pitched 5.1 innings out of the bullpen, allowing nine hits and six earned runs while posting a 10.13 ERA.
While freshmen Jake Yeager and Logan Hastings have shown flashes, they have also experienced growing pains. With the rest of the pitching staff’s struggles, they have been called upon to pitch more innings, causing them to run out of gas.
Now, with a four-game weekend slate against Princeton and No. 12 Wake Forest, the Terps will look to bounce back and play complementary baseball before Big Ten play begins next weekend.