It certainly wasn’t a beautiful day for baseball at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium, but the Terps and Fighting Illini played one heck of a game on Saturday afternoon.

The Maryland (27-17, 7-10) offense looked lackadaisical for much of Friday night’s loss against Illinois (25-14, 11-3) before a minor breakthrough in the final inning saw the Terps snag two runs and bring the tying run to the plate. Maryland ultimately dropped the contest, but the offensive momentum seemed to carry over to game two of the series.

Despite rain delaying Saturday’s start by an hour, Maryland came out swinging to capture an early lead. From there, the Terps relied on some clutch bullpen performances down the stretch to will their way to a crucial 9-8 victory, and even this weekend’s series against Big Ten leaders Illinois.

“They came out like gangbusters,” said Maryland head coach Matt Swope. “Even when [Illinois] came back they didn’t sulk or pout, they just did a good job [to] keep grinding it out.”

Both offenses were throwing haymakers in the early going.

The first four batters in the Maryland order reached base in the bottom of the first inning, allowing the Terps to get on the board after Jacob Orr was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Brayden Martin then grounded into a run-scoring double play, which seemed as if it could be a rally killer. But the Terps weren’t done.

Kevin Keister kept the offense rolling by lacing an RBI double off the yellow foul marking on the left-field fence before Micheal Iannazzo continued his productive week with an RBI base hit to score Keister.

“He swings at a lot of pitches but he’s a pesky hitter,” said Swope, referring to Iannazzo’s approach. “He’s getting his opportunity and he’s taking advantage of it.”

The 4-0 lead was short-lived for Maryland though, as the Fighting Illini immediately cut into the deficit thanks to a three-run blast off the bat of Jacob Schroeder.

But of course, the 4-3 scoreline didn’t last long either because Elijah Lambros led off the bottom of the second with a moonshot over the centerfield fence.

Not only did his solo blast cushion Maryland’s, but it also chased Illinois starter Cooper Omans after just nine batters. The tough start came as a little bit of a surprise since Omans has arguably been the Fighting Illini’s best pitcher this season. Saturday’s outing, however, was easily his worst of the 2024 campaign, raising his ERA by almost a full point (3.55 to 4.44).

Maryland starter Omar Melendez didn’t fair much better though in his second Saturday start of the season. Melendez couldn’t make it out of the third inning and exited with the game tied at five after giving up a two-run blast to Illinois clean-up hitter Vytas Valincius.

“He left some stuff up in the zone … today,” said Swope. “He’s gotta work that change up down, and then the fastball up in the zone. Overall, it probably [wasn’t] his best [outing], but we’ll just keep working with him.”

Despite the early departure, Melendez’s battery mate Devin Russell made sure to pick him up in the bottom of the third. With two gone and a man on second, Russell launched a 2-0 offering down the left field line, but his home-run distance fly ball sailed just foul. Then two pitches later Russell hammered a home run off the varsity team house to give Maryland a 7-5 lead.

“It’s never a good feeling hitting a foul ball homerun because you feel really good seeing it go, and then it’s just a long strike,” said Russell. “Then usually … you don’t hit a home run in the same at-bat, but I got lucky and got [another] good pitch to hit.”

Eddie Hacopian tacked on an eighth for the Terps later in the third inning with a bloop single that scored Lambros. Hacopian would also drive in Lambros with a seventh-inning double that gave Maryland its ninth—and final—run of the game.

Camden Janik got the sixth run of the game for the Fighting Illini in the top of the fourth, and that’s when the offenses finally slowed down.

Kenny Lippman came in to relive Melendez in the third and was nearly flawless. The run he surrendered on Janik’s base hit was the only one he gave up in his 4.1 innings of work, and the time in which he slowed down the Fighting Illini offense was critical too because the Terps didn’t scratch out another run until the seventh. Lippman ended up earning the win as well.

The last two innings for Maryland were assigned to Logan Berrier, and neither of the frames were easy.

Illinois got a one-out rally going in the eighth thanks to a couple of hits and a walk. The Fighting Illini managed to plate two of those runners after a bases-loaded HBP and a wild pitch. Thankfully for the Terps though, Berrier was able to bow his neck and escape the jam to preserve the one-run lead.

Despite the rough eighth inning, Swope said the decision to send Berrier back out “wasn’t even a question.”

Schroeder led off the ninth with a base hit, and he was then sacrificed over to second to put a runner in scoring position with just one out. Once again though, Berrier delivered for the Terps and got back-to-back strikeouts to put the finishing touches on a chaotic victory.

“We’re fighting for our lives right now, … [but] these guys are confident,” said Swope.

First pitch for the series finale is scheduled for noon on Sunday. The Terps not only have a chance to win their first series in over a month, but they could also hand Illinois its first series loss in conference play this season with a victory tomorrow afternoon.