Maryland baseball’s (2-1) offensive struggles led to its first loss of the season to Georgia Southern (1-2), 7-3.

The heart of Maryland’s order struggled the most. Sam Hojnar, Alex Calarco, and Kevin Keister hit 0-for-11 combined with seven of the team’s 11 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Georgia Southern pitcher Ty Fisher delivered an outing reminiscent of his dominant 2022 season. Fisher was lockdown in the first two innings, sending down all six batters he faced with two strikeouts.

Right when it looked like Maryland had an opportunity to cut into the lead, Fisher shut it down. With two runners on and one out in the sixth, Fisher struck out back-to-back batters to kill the Maryland momentum. As he approached the dugout, Fisher let out a huge yell, firing up his squad.

In the third inning, Maryland finally got to him. Catcher Charlie Glennon delivered a double to right center, his first hit as a Terp. Brayden Martin drove him in on a single that bounced just past the Eagles’ second baseman.

In six innings, Fisher allowed just four hits, one run, and one walk with eight strikeouts. 

On the other side, Meade Johnson did not allow a hit until a third-inning bunt single. The bunt gave the Eagles two runners on with no outs. A single that skipped past Hojnar’s glove tied the game and put runners on the corners. Georgia Southern pushed two more through on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly.

The Eagles extended their lead in the fourth after Luke Odden doubled down the right field line, scoring Jarrett Jenkins from first. Odden scored on a single from Josh Tate to make the lead 5-1.

Maryland pulled Johnson after allowing another baserunner. Johnson finished with four hits, five walks, five earned runs, and four strikeouts through 3.1 innings.

Georgia Southern’s offensive success came down to its plate discipline. Over the afternoon, the Eagles drew seven walks and rarely chased outside pitches.

Once Fisher was taken out, Maryland cut into the lead. Outfielder Jacob Orr singled to left field, scoring Eddie Hacopian. Hacopian would later score on a passed ball that bounced off Georgia Southern catcher JD Kaiser’s leg, cutting the lead to 5-3.

Sam Blancato quickly answered with a solo home run to deep right field, clearing the 24-foot high wall. Later in the inning, Kaiser hit a double off the right field wall scoring Jarrett Brown and putting the lead back to four.

From here, Maryland’s offense was unable to find an answer and suffered its first loss of the season.

With the series win, Maryland comes back to College Park with a winning record. Next is the home opener against Mount St. Mary’s for a Tuesday afternoon matchup.