The Maryland Terrapins (31-18, 10-11) outlast the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (26-21, 4-14) in Piscataway, New Jersey to win the second half of their doubleheader and the weekend series.

The second half of the doubleheader began as another pitcher’s duel for the Terps and the Scarlet Knights. 

Rutgers starter Jake Marshall had a clean slate through three innings, striking out three Terrapins in his first run through the Maryland order.

On the other side, Maryland right-hander Logan Koester’s only blemish in through two was an infield single in the bottom of the second inning.

The Scarlet Knights were the first team to put a runner in scoring position.

Scotty Young led off the bottom of the third with a double down the right field line, then advanced to third on a Jackson Natili sacrifice bunt. Once he got to third, Rutgers made a mistake. 

The Scarlet Knights attempted a hit-and-run, but Johnny Volpe hit a sharp grounder directly to Chris Hacopian, who forced Scotty Young into a rundown between third and home. It remained 0-0 after three.

The Terps broke up Jake Marshall’s perfect game in the top of the fourth.

Eddie Hacopian reached on an infield single to second, then younger brother Chris Hacopian followed with a single to put runners on first and second for Maryland. Sam Hojnar walked, loading the bases for Brayden Martin… but the Terps would score in an unorthodox way.

Jake Marshall threw back-to-back wild pitches to Martin, allowing both Hacopians to score and sending Hojnar to third. Once Brayden Martin saw a hittable pitch, he brought home Sam Hojnar with an infield single to make it 3-0 Maryland.

Rutgers responded in the bottom half of the inning.

Tony Santa Maria flew a ball out to right field that looked like it would hang for Jacob Orr. It did not. A strong crosswind pushed the should-be routine fly ball over the wall in right, cutting Maryland’s lead down to two.

After Elijah Lambros led off the top of the fifth with a walk, the Scarlet Knights pulled Jake Marshall. The right-handed graduate student went four innings, surrendering three runs on three hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

The Scarlet Knights continued their comeback in the fifth.

Cameron Love and Scotty Young began the inning with back-to-back singles, then a sacrifice bunt from Jackson Natili pushed the runners to second and third. Johnny Volpe burned Maryland for the second time on the day, lining a double down the right field line to score both runners and tie the score at 3-3.

The Terps broke the tie again in the sixth.

Maryland had more small ball on display in the inning. Brayden Martin and Jacob Orr both reached on singles and moved to second and third on a Kevin Keister sacrifice bunt. The Scarlet Knights intentionally walked Michael Iannazzo to load the bases for Devin Russell.

The pressure got to Rutgers’ reliever Sam Portnoy, who plunked Russell with a fastball to score a run and give Maryland a 4-3 lead. Elijah Lambros followed with a line-drive double to score two more, making it 6-3 for the Terps and ending Portnoy’s day on the mound.

A 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth inning would end up being the final for Logan Koester. Maryland got a great outing out of their starter, as he allowed just three runs on seven hits and no walks with two K’s in six innings. 

Logan Berrier was the next pitcher on the mound for Maryland, and Rutgers was ready for him.

Cameron Love led off the bottom of the seventh with an infield single and advanced to second on the play due to a throwing error from Chris Hacopian. He advanced to third on a groundout, then surprisingly scored on a balk from Berrier. The Terps’ lead was down to 6-4.

That would be the only scare Maryland faced down the stretch, as Berrier shut down the Scarlet Knights’ offense in the eighth and ninth innings to secure the save and the 6-4 win.

The Terps will face USC Upstate on Wednesday in their final home midweek of 2024 before they travel to Boston College for a weekend series with the Eagles.