Maryland baseball head coach Matt Swope knew when he took the reins of the program that he would have to add a lot of talent with multiple key starters from the 2023 season departing College Park.

The main way he accomplished this was by bringing in Chris Hacopian – the younger brother of first baseman Eddie and one of the best players in the state of Maryland. The younger Hacopian was originally committed to powerhouse Wake Forest, but with his older brother’s influence and a strong push from Swope, he flipped to the Terps.

That decision has proven to be a fruitful one for both sides early on. Hacopian has earned the third base job and the second spot in the batting order. On Saturday, he earned his first collegiate hit – a no-doubt two-run home run to left center to break the tie in the third inning. 

The lead Hacopian gave the Terps would not be one they would surrender for the rest of the game. The Terps defeated Georgia Southern for the second game in a row, 7-1. The Terps take their first series of the season on the road. 

After a come-from-behind victory on Friday night, the Terps were looking for another strong performance on both ends to capture the series. They got just that. Seven of the Terps’ 9 batters recorded a hit, highlighted by Hacopian’s homer and Alex Calarco’s mammoth solo shot in the top of the ninth, his first home run as a Terp after transferring from Northwestern before the season. The elder Hacopian also had a nice performance, finishing the day with two hits, including a double. He would also bring Kevin Keister home in the ninth on a deep sac fly. 

The Terps also did a good job of earning walks with five different batters taking the walk down to first. However, there is room for improvement, as the team struck out six times. The youth on this team will certainly have their growing pains. 

On the defensive side, pitching shut down the Georgia Southern offense after troubles in game one.

Redshirt senior Logan Koester, a transfer from George Washington, earned the starting nod in Game 2. In his first time taking the mound in a Terps uniform, he impressed. He finished the day with one earned run over four innings pitched, accompanied by three hits and one walk surrendered, but two strikeouts earned. He earns his first win of the season.

However, it was freshman reliever Joey McMannis who stole the show for the Terps. In his first-ever appearance in college baseball, McMannis threw four shutout innings against the Eagles, limiting them to just one hit while striking out two batters. His phenomenal showing out of the pen saved arms for tomorrow’s ultimate match.

It has been an impressive start to the Matt Swope era for the Dirty Terps down in Statesboro. Although the series is already captured, the team will be looking for the sweep in Game 3 at 1 p.m. on Sunday.