Coming into Thursday’s matchup against Rutgers, Maryland was red-hot in the month of May. After sweeping Minnesota — while scoring at least eight runs in each contest — the Dirty Terps were in need of a similar output this weekend to stay alive in Big Ten tournament contention.

Instead, Maryland played from behind for a majority of the game, falling to Rutgers 6-4 — a loss that makes its postseason hopes incredibly bleak.

“They were able to get a few big hits, and we just weren’t,” head coach Matt Swope said. “[The game] seemed like it pretty much summed up the season today.”

Maryland seemingly picked up where it left off last weekend in Thursday’s first inning. 

Brayden Martin led off the game by drawing a walk. Up stepped Chris Hacopian, who laced a single through the left side, putting runners on first and second with no outs. The second half of the Hacopian duo then cashed in, as Eddie knocked a single up the middle to bring Martin across.

With the first three Maryland batters reaching base, it seemed like the Dirty Terps were well on their way to another high-powered offensive performance.

But Rutgers starter Landon Mack pitched out of the jam. The freshman forced Hollis Porter into a double play. He then got Jacob Orr to a groundout, as Maryland left the first inning with a 1-0 lead that could’ve been far greater.

For the next three innings, the Terps couldn’t find any more traction against Rutgers’ freshman ace. Maryland got runners on base each inning, but failed to bring them home on all three occasions. That later became the defining feature of Maryland’s night. It out-hit Rutgers by two, but left 14 runners on base.

Meanwhile, Maryland starting pitcher Brayden Ryan ran into trouble in the top of the second. After a scoreless first inning, Ryan allowed six hits in the second. That resulted in four Rutgers runs, highlighted by a two-run homer from RJ Johnson Jr. — his first long ball of the year.

The rough second inning marked the end of Ryan’s first start in a weekend series.

“They had seven hits in two innings. You can’t run the risk [of keeping Ryan in the game],” Swope said.

Trailing by three with the offense cold in the fifth inning, Chris Hacopian struck again. The sophomore launched a solo shot over the batter’s eye in center field to reclaim some momentum for Maryland. 

The elder Hacopian played into this momentum shift, driving a double into left-center field. Orr capitalized on the scoring opportunity, driving in Eddie Hacopian and pulling Maryland back within one run, at 4-3.

But the Terps lost their momentum just as quickly as they had regained it.

In relief of Ryan, freshman Logan Hastings faced the minimum in three consecutive innings. But the right-hander’s fortunes changed in the sixth inning. He plunked JT Thompson to lead off the inning. Two batters later, with Thompson at third, Matt Chatelle brought in his teammate on a single.

The Scarlet Knights’ lead jumped back to three in the next inning on a solo shot from Trevor Cohen — just his second of the season.

“We had our best bullpen arm out there, and we felt comfortable going to him,” Swope said. “He did a great job for the most part. He gave up a couple of [runs] there late..  [but he] kept us in the game.”

Down to their final five outs, Aden Hill kept Maryland’s fleeting hopes alive on a solo shot. Still in search of two runs to even the game at six apiece, the Dirty Terps continued to fight. 

With two outs, Elijah Lambros kept the inning going with a single. Then, Martin was hit by a pitch, and Chris Hacopian drew a walk to load the bases.

That put Eddie Hacopian in a familiar position: the hero role. But the senior couldn’t deliver, grounding into a fielder’s choice to silence Maryland’s scoring threat. 

Needing a miracle in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Terps nearly produced one.

Hollis Porter drew a leadoff walk. Two batters later, Alex Calarco reached base in the same fashion, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. Aden Hill grounded into a fielder’s choice, bringing up reigning Big Ten freshman of the week, Paul Jones II, with the Terps down to their final out.

Facing a 3-2 count, Jones drew ball four, keeping the rally going and loading the bases for the second consecutive inning. 

Lambros was up next. But Rutgers closer Quinn Berglin held firm, striking out the Maryland senior looking, as the Terps’ comeback bid fell just short.

“[You] hate to see it come down to the last batter because not one of those was a strike,” Swope said. “But it can’t come down to that.”

The loss doesn’t officially eliminate Maryland from postseason contention, but its chances look highly unlikely. Due to Illinois defeating Ohio State 4-3 tonight, its final hope lies with No. 14 UCLA. If Northwestern beats the Bruins later tonight (the Wildcats lead UCLA 6-4 in the bottom of the seventh at the time of posting), it would officially end Maryland’s season.

Regardless of the outcome, Nate Schwartz will be back in the booth for MBN with Ryan Martin for the season’s penultimate game tomorrow at 6 p.m.