The Terps were eliminated from Big Ten Tournament contention.
During game two of the doubleheader on Friday, Maryland baseball was eliminated from Big Ten Tournament contention after Ohio State defeated Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Regardless, the Terps still lost game three of the weekend series, as Penn State completed the sweep with a 19-7 victory.
It is the first time Maryland has been swept since 2019 and caps off a brutal end to the 2024 season.
After winning the Big Ten Tournament last year — along with the Big Ten regular season title in each of the past two years — the Terps won’t even compete in the tournament this season for the first time since 2018.
Despite winning more than 30 games this year, Maryland will likely miss out entirely on postseason play.
“It’s devastating, you hate it for the seniors to kind of go out like that,” Maryland head coach Matt Swope said. “A lot that was at stake. True to fashion, the guys battled to the last out.”
Brayden Martin had a special moment in the bottom of the first inning, hitting his first collegiate home run. It was a solo shot to get Maryland on the board.
Evan Smith started on the mound for Maryland, working two scoreless innings until he faced trouble in the third, when Penn State’s Kevin Michaels — who dominated Maryland all series — hit a two-run home run.
Eddie Hacopian struck back in the bottom of the third inning, hitting a three-run home run to give the Terps a 4-2 lead.
Smith continued to struggle, getting pulled after hitting and walking batters with the bases loaded to make it 4-4.
Andrew Johnson came in and ended the inning, but not before giving up two runs on a walk and sacrifice fly, granting the Nittany Lions a 6-4 lead. Smith threw three innings, allowing six earned runs on four hits.
Nate Haberthier came in next, inheriting runners from Johnson in the seventh inning. Penn State’s Bobby Marsh hit a two-run single, increasing the lead to four. Then, Tayven Kelley hit a two-run single to make it 10-4.
Penn State added one more run in the eighth inning, as J.T. Marr hit an RBI single off Logan Ott to drive in Kelley.
Ott began the ninth inning, but after giving up a three-run homer and an RBI double, Duke McCarron relived him. McCarron then gave up a three-run home run of his own, making the score a brutal 19-5.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Eddie Hacopian knocked a solo home run to cut the deficit to 13. Kevin Keister also hit an RBI single in his final plate appearance as a Terp.
Game two on Friday was the final Maryland Athletics sporting event in College Park for the 2023-24 school year, as well as Maryland baseball’s likely last game of the season.
Three things to know
1. That’s all, folks. Maryland was eliminated from Big Ten Tournament contention and, despite its RPI (No. 39), will most likely not make a regional. If Maryland does not receive an NCAA Tournament bid, Friday was the end of its 2024 season.
2. Swept. Maryland baseball gets swept for the first time since 2019, when Michigan did so in College Park.
3. Disappointing Senior Day. Maryland baseball honored its seniors on Friday, but unfortunately lost both games in the doubleheader.