The Maryland Terrapins are Big Ten Tournament Champions for the first time in school history.

Last season, after winning the conference regular season, the Terps saw their season end in heartbreak, losing in the second round of the tournament.

This time around, it was triumph for the Terps. After beating Michigan State in round one and then Nebraska in back-to-back games, the Terps beat the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Championship game, 4-0. They’re the first team since Minnesota in 2018 to win both the Big Ten regular season and the tournament. 

Although the Terps were considered the home team, they were once again playing in an away atmosphere. Just like Nebraska fans, Iowa fans packed Charles Schwab Field in Omaha. However, it made no difference to the Terps. 

For the first four and a half innings, it was a defensive battle between the two sides, led by the bullpens. The teams combined for five hits and each was already onto their third pitcher of the game. 

In the bottom of the fifth, the Terps broke the standstill with a two-run homer off the bat of Kevin Keister, who watched as his friend Logan Ott caught his deep fly in Maryland’s bullpen. 

Just a few batters later, Nick Lorusso extended the lead to three with a solo shot of his own, his second of the tournament. The hit ended an unusual cold streak for the Big Ten RBI leader. 

The Terps’ offensive success in the fifth inning came against Jack Whitlock, arguably Iowa’s best relief pitcher. They ran him out of the game and handed him his first loss of the season. 

In the next inning, Eddie Hacopian continued his impressive run at the plate with a double, his second hit of the game. He would remain at second until a single to left center by Jacob Orr brought him home, cementing the lead at 4-0. Hacopian would finish as the only Terp to record multiple hits.

It was yet again a phenomenal effort by Maryland’s pitching staff. Ryan Van Buren, who earned the starting nod, worked his way out of jams in the first two innings. Andrew Johnson also got himself into a jam, but was able to keep the Hawkeyes off the board.

The true heroes of the day were Kenny Lippman and David Falco Jr. Lippman finished his afternoon with three hitless innings, which also featured him striking out two. His effort earned him his eighth win of the season. Falco came in early to close things out for the Terps, allowing one hit and striking out two in the final two and two-thirds. 

“We can pitch, too,” said Falco on the Big Ten Network broadcast after the game. 

With their victory, the Terps have earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which begins next weekend. Now, the squad awaits to hear where they’ll be playing in the regionals.