Terps, Colonials To Square Off In Mid-Week Matchup

May 2, 2006

The Maryland Terrapins (20-28) will bring an unblemished non-conference home record with them to Shipley Field on Wednesday, May 3 when they welcome the George Washington Colonials for a mid-week tilt at 7 p.m. The teams have already met once this year in College Park, a matchup that the Terps won, 5-4, in dramatic fashion.

So far this year, Maryland is a perfect 9-0 against non-Atlantic Coast Conference foes at home, including an upset over No. 15 Old Dominion and one-run victories over GW, Duquesne and James Madison. Most recently, the Terps downed the Towson Tigers, 8-6, in College Park last Wednesday. Overall, Maryland is 13-8 in non-conference action and 12-9 at home.

Following a three-game weekend set against thirteenth-ranked Virginia, the Terps rank as having played the fourth toughest schedule in all of college baseball. They hold an RPI rating of 50 (0.5535) and own nine wins over top-50 RPI teams. So far this season, the Terps have knocked off a ranked team seven times, including No. 3 North Carolina, No. 25 James Madison and No. 24 Wake Forest on the road and No. 14 Miami, No. 3 Georgia Tech (twice) No. 15 ODU at Shipley.

The Terps lead the overall series with George Washington, 42-27-4. Maryland has won three of the last four contests with the Colonials, including this season's first meeting on March 1. With the score tied, Nick Jowers hit a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to lift Maryland past GW in the Terrapins' home opener. Lefty Brett Cecil was credited with the win for the Terps, who were behind 4-0 early on.

With just over one full week left in the regular season, Maryland is scheduled to play four more non-conference games following their showdown with George Washington, including three at home. Next Tuesday, May 9, the Terps will head to Morgantown, W.Va. for the back-end of a home-and-home series with the Mountaineers before returning to College Park for three contests against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) teams in two days. The Terps will take part in a Wednesday doubleheader with UMES before concluding their 2006 schedule against Coppin State on May 11.

Wednesday's game will be broadcast live online by WMUC Sports at www.wmucsports.com. Nick Sekkas and John Wilmont will be doing color and play-by-play with Mark "Swan" Butman available in the booth for additional commentary. Right-handed pitcher Ryan Moorer (1-0, 3.63 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for Maryland. In his last seven appearances (three starts), the sophomore from Peabody, Mass. is 1-0 with a 2.81 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 16 innings.

Scouting the Colonials

George Washington enters Wednesday's battle with an overall record of 18-25 and a 9-7 mark in the Atlantic 10. The Colonials are 8-15 on the road and 0-5 against ACC teams. They fell to George Mason, 8-7, on Tuesday evening after sweeping a three-game league set from LaSalle over the weekend.

At the plate, GW is led by outfielder Charlie Kruer, who is hitting .311 with seven home runs, 13 doubles and 31 RBI, all team highs. Second baseman Michael Parker is currently batting .282 with four homers and third baseman Tom Shanely is hitting at a .278 clip to go along with 26 RBI. Shortstop and leadoff hitter Mickey Shupin paces the club with 19 stolen bases. All but one Colonial that has reached base this season owns a steal.

On the hill, junior Derrik Lutz has compiled a team-low 1.49 ERA and 4-2 mark in 65.1 innings (10 appearances, nine starts). Righty Josh Wilkie is 4-3 with a 2.60 ERA and 80 strikeouts and Derek Haese is 5-2 in 20 appearances, including 18 in relief. Southpaw Dan Pfau leads GW in saves with four.

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