With the bases loaded and already trailing by two runs in the top of the third inning against Bryant, Maryland turned to Logan Berrier, who escaped the inning untouched, stabilizing a poor start to Sunday’s season finale.

“That’s the game right there,” head coach Matt Swope said feet away from the home dugout of Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium after his team’s 11-7 victory. “Early on, stopping the bleeding, giving us the chance to add on right there, that was huge.”

Berrier, a fifth-year senior who transferred from Longwood, pitched 3 ⅔ innings of shutout baseball and was credited with the win as the Terps (9-3) secured their first sweep of the season with a victory over the Bulldogs (1-7).  

After Maryland notched a run in the bottom of the first inning, freshman Joey McMannis was lucky to escape the second with the score tied. 

In the top of the third, a two-run home run from Bryant’s Gavin Noriega gave the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead. After three of the next four batters found their way to first base, McMannis was pulled for Berrier. McMannis’ first collegiate start ended after 2 ⅓ innings with three earned runs, four walks, and a pair of strikeouts. 

Berrier proceeded to strike out his first batter before forcing the next Bulldog to pop out to end the inning. 

In the top of the fifth Bryant got its first two runners on base. With a double play and a strikeout, Berrier silenced the Bulldogs’ chances of regaining the lead. 

“He’s started, he’s been a reliever, that’s kind of why you’re doing it. You’re bringing in those guys for these moments,” said Swope. “They are still going to go out there and compete, you don’t have to worry about the mental part of it.

Berrier finished the day with three strikeouts and credit for the victory. In 11 ⅔ innings this season, the fifth-year transfer from Longwood has a 2.31 ERA. 

With one out in the bottom of the fourth, a solo home run from Alex Calarco, who had three RBIs in the win, cut the deficit to one.

“The past few days, I met with Swope and I worked on my approach, just trying to get the ball a little deeper,” said Calarco. “It felt really good, we should be building off of it.”

Three batters later, Catholic University transfer Ben Nardi snuck a ball inside the first base line for an RBI double to tie the game. 

In the bottom of the fifth, a double play from Chris Hacopian with the bases loaded allowed the Terps to grab a 4-3 lead. The Terps loaded the bases a second time in the inning, with Elijah Lambros at the plate on this occasion. The centerfielder ended a nine-pitch battle with a much-earned RBI walk to extend the lead. 

After a four-run sixth inning pushed the lead to 9-3, Berrier was removed for junior Meade Johnson. Johnson struggled mightily, giving up three runs (two earned), and only forced a single out before being removed for Garrett French.

French’s first pitch was a two-run home run that sliced the Maryland lead to 9-7. With two outs and runners on second and third, French forced Bryant’s Justin Hackett to fly out. 

The Terps took advantage of a wild pitch and an error to add two runs before Alex Walsh struck out two batters in the ninth to secure the first sweep of Swope’s tenure as head coach.

“Sweeping’s not easy, it’s definitely not easy. We’ve been in this position multiple times already,” said Swope. “It’s about character, it’s about coming together as a team, it’s about growing, it’s about all those different things. … But if you can score 11 runs and sweep on a Sunday, at the end of the day I’ll feel good about that.”

The Terps will be at home against Delaware on Tuesday at 5 p.m. before traveling south for a road series against Charlotte over the weekend.