The Terps wrap up their last midweek meeting with a familiar foe.
As the regular season winds down, Maryland baseball has seven games to build on its first series win against Penn State and make a run at the Big Ten postseason.
The Terps took two out of three from the Nittany Lions this past weekend. They now sit two games back of 12th place — and qualifying for the Big Ten Tournament — and will stay on the road to face James Madison for the second time in their final midweek contest on Tuesday.
First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Eagle Field and will air on ESPN+.
James Madison Dukes (15-33, 8-16 Sun Belt)
What happened last time?
Maryland defeated James Madison 8-4 at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium in its March 4 matchup. At this point, the Terps had a winning record, and freshman Jake Yeager was still in the midweek starter role.
The game against the Dukes was Yeager’s second-ever start. For four innings, the game was a pitcher’s duel between the freshman and James Madison starter Casey Smith.
Maryland added a run in the first, while the Dukes matched that total in the second to tie it.
Smith then retired 10 straight Maryland batters, but Yeager and the Terps didn’t allow a runner on base from the third inning to the fifth inning. Maryland broke through in the fifth inning with three runs. It started with a Chris Hacopian RBI single, then a bases-clearing double from Alex Calarco to take a 4-1 lead into the sixth inning.
James Madison had just one hit entering the seventh inning, but pinch hitter Nic Poole homered to cut the deficit to two. Calarco responded with a two-run shot in the bottom half to extend the Terps’ lead back to four. The Terps then added insurance in the eighth inning.
The Dukes scored one run in each of the final two innings, but it was not enough. Andrew Johnson closed it out for Maryland to give Yeager his first collegiate win in his best start, going five innings and allowing one run on just one hit.
What’s happened since?
For both teams, the season has not progressed how they envisioned it back in early March. Both teams won a series this past weekend; that win snapped a season-long losing drought for the Terps and a month-long losing drought for the Dukes.
Maryland’s offense has stayed relatively consistent throughout the season after its blazing hot start, but pitching has been a major issue.
Maryland allowed double-digit runs in two contests in its first Big Ten series against UCLA. It started with an extra inning loss in game one — where it allowed six runs in 10th inning — sprinkled with a mercy rule win in between to start a trend frequently seen throughout the season.
The Terps then lost in heartbreaking fashion to a ranked Virginia team after climbing back with three ninth-inning runs, highlighting the inconsistencies the pitching staff has experienced late in games.
The Terps dropped the next two series against USF and Washington in low scoring games, but the series against Northwestern started an ugly streak for the pitching staff. The Terps had multiple games allowing double digit runs in three of its next five series — including four straight Sunday contests allowing double-digit runs. The lows of Maryland’s pitching have been a major factor in the Terps’ series struggles.
Maryland finally broke its losing streak against Penn State this past weekend, needing an extra inning thriller to beat the Nittany Lions 12-11 on Saturday to clinch its first series win.
James Madison won its first two series in conference play. It needed extra innings in its opening series against the University of Louisiana Monrow — the only team currently below it in the Sun Belt standings. It then defeated Marshall in two out of three games, with every matchup decided by one run.
Since then, though, the Dukes have won just one series. They were swept by Louisiana and Georgia State, and only took one of three against Troy and Appalachian State. The Dukes were swept again by Coastal Carolina, but bounced back with a series win this past weekend against Georgia Southern.
Three things to know
1. Maryland has a chance. With its series win against Penn State, Maryland jumped a spot in the Big Ten standings. It has two winnable series coming up against Minnesota and Rutgers, respectively, as it sits two games back of 12th place.
2. Will Ryan start again? After adjusting to his midweek role well, Brayden Ryan struggled against Georgetown last week, allowing seven runs in 2.2 innings.
3. Chance for a sweep. Maryland has an opportunity to sweep another midweek opponent in James Madison. The Terps beat Mount St. Mary’s twice but have yet to win another home-and-away series.