Freshman shortstop Cooper Malamazian sent a monster home run into left field in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut Indiana baseball’s deficit to one and electrify the crowd at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington.
Malamazian’s home run was the main catalyst behind the Hoosiers’ 7-6 comeback win over Maryland on Friday in the first game of the teams’ three-game series.
As dramatic as the end of the game was, things were relatively tame for Indiana through the first six and a half innings. Maryland’s offense came out hot, as senior infielder Eddie Hacopian launched a grand slam to give the Terrapins an early 4-0 lead. Fellow senior infielder Jacob Orr hit an RBI single to push the lead to 5-0.
Indiana’s first run did not come until the bottom of the third inning, when freshman infielder Jake Hanley recorded an RBI on a fielder’s choice.
There was no more scoring until the top of the seventh inning, when Maryland senior catcher Alex Calarco hit an RBI double to increase the Terrapins’ lead to 6-1.
At this point, it seemed like Indiana was practically dead in the water with just one run and little working against Maryland’s starter, redshirt sophomore Kyle McCoy. The Terrapin notched eight strikeouts and gave up three earned runs while throwing a career-high 110 pitches.
However, once the eighth inning arrived, Indiana’s offense woke up. Freshman infielder Hogan Denny connected on a two-RBI single to cut the deficit to three runs. Then Malamazian’s home run trimmed the Terrapins’ lead to one.
Sophomore outfielder Korbyn Dickerson smacked an RBI single to tie the game at six. And finally, in the bottom of the ninth inning, freshman infielder Will Moore placed the ball right in the gap in left-center field and brought home the game-winning run, walking it off for the Hoosiers.
Indiana will be back in action 2 p.m. Saturday as they face Maryland again in the second game set at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington. The game will stream on Big Ten+.