Heading into a rainy Sunday afternoon, the Dirty Terps looked to pick up their first series sweep of the season.

Despite an early lead, sloppy defense in the early innings and struggles to produce with runners in scoring position doomed Maryland’s chances of a sweep.

A glimpse of hope shone for Maryland in the seventh after a Chris Hacopian two-run homer cut the deficit in half, but the game was put on pause for a lengthy rain delay immediately after. With its momentum stagnated, Maryland failed to score after the break, as the Nittany Lions salvaged an 8-4 win over the Terps in the series finale. 

The Terps (22-27, 8-16 Big Ten) scored early, but not often, on Sunday.

After a Chris Hacopian walk in the top of the first, Hollis Porter sent a long ball over the right fielder’s head for his 20th home run of the season, as Maryland took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the frame. 

The blast also made Porter the fifth Terp in program history to hit 20 home runs in a single campaign. 

In the bottom half of the first, a costly throwing error from Brayden Martin extended the inning for Penn State (27-19, 13-14 Big Ten) after it faced two quick outs. The Nittany Lions soon capitalized with two singles — the second of which was a run-scoring knock off the bat of Jesse Jaconski that cut Maryland’s lead in half. 

After fairly clean innings from both pitchers in the second and third, the Terps loaded the bases with one out in the fourth but failed to push any runs across. 

The missed opportunity quickly became prominent as the Nittany Lions tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth. 

With rain falling progressively harder in State College, another Maryland throwing error allowed Joe Jaconski to reach base. He later came around to score Penn State’s second unearned run of the afternoon, following back-to-back singles. 

Junior Ryan Weingartner polished off the Nittany Lion rally with a two-RBI double to left-center field. Penn State led 4-2 after four innings.

Maryland once again threatened the Nittany Lions in the fifth with runners on second and third base but failed to score once more. And as it had done in the previous innings, Penn State translated its defensive momentum into offense. 

The Nittany Lions put two more scores on the board in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI triple from junior Nate Voss and an RBI single by senior Derek Cease. That two-run sixth ultimately spelled the end of the line for Terps starter Omar Melendez. 

The unearned runs and rocky ending somewhat overshadowed a decent display for the senior left-hander. He exited having given up six runs (only four of which were earned) over five innings, while inducing 10 flyouts to just one strikeout.

Maryland Head Coach Matt Swope then turned to freshman right-hander Jake Yeager in the sixth. He only gave up a harmless single in his first, and only, inning of the day.

The Terps then cut their four-run deficit in half in the top of the seventh. It started with a Martin walk, before Chris Hacopian sent a homerun to left field, cutting Penn State’s lead to 6-4. 

Moments after runners touched home plate, though, the game was paused as rain started pouring in State College. 

Coming out of the rain delay, the Dirty Terps looked like they might continue their seventh-inning scoring. After back-to-back singles and a walk, the Terps loaded the bases. However, once again, the Terps couldn’t capitalize. 

Penn State sophomore Mason Horwat got Aden Hill to ground out and end the inning. 

Swope turned to graduate right-hander Jack Wren in the bottom of the seventh, in place of Yeager. 

The Nittany Lions came out swinging in their first at-bats after the delay. After giving up a first-pitch single to begin the half inning, Wren surrendered an RBI double to Voss and an RBI single to Cohl Mercado. Penn State extended its lead back to four, holding an 8-4 advantage after seven. 

That score held into the top of the ninth. 

Entering their last chance to keep the game alive in the ninth, the Hacopian brothers recorded back-to-back singles to begin the inning. However, the next three at-bats resulted in straight outs, spoiling Maryland’s chance at earning what would’ve been its first Big Ten series sweep in over two years.

The Terps now turn to their midweek matchup against James Madison in Harrisonburg, Virginia, on Wednesday. First pitch for that game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., with Tyler Lochte on the call for MBN.