March 8, 2007

Weekly Release

The Maryland Terrapins begin their Atlantic Coast Conference slate as they visit North Carolina State for a three-game weekend series in Raleigh. Game times are 3 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday, and 1:30 p.m. Sunday. All the action can be heard live on WMUC Sports online.

• Last weekend, the Terps fell one game short of a second sweep as they took two of three from Lafayette College at Shipley Field. Maryland won games one and two by 4-2 and 7-4 margins before falling 7-2 in the series finale.
• Maryland swept the George Washington Colonials two weeks ago at Shipley Field, with a walkoff single on Friday, and then 11-4 and 6-4 wins in Saturday's doubleheader.
• Maryland took two of three games at UCF, winning the first two games in impressive fashion, 16-4 and 9-7, before falling 4-3 in the series finale. In the first weekend of the season, the Terps won two games at the Winthrop Challenge.
• Junior reliever Brett Cecil set a new school record with his 16th career save on Feb. 17 in the Terps' 12-inning win over Creighton, 1-0. Cecil, who set the record for a single season in 2006 with 13 saves, was named to the preseason Clemens Award watch list and All-America second team by Baseball America. Cecil now has three saves on the year after Friday and Saturday, in which he allowed one hit while striking out four pitching the ninth inning both days.
• Maryland is looking for its first win in an ACC opener since the 2005 season, when it defeated first-year member Virginia Tech, 6-4. Overall, Maryland is 18-35 in ACC lid-lifters.

SERIES HISTORY
Maryland trails in the all-time series, 47-90-1 (.344). Last season, the Wolfpack swept the Terrapins in College Park, as they marked 11-4, 15-4, and 7-4 victories at Shipley Field from April 14-16. Maryland's last victory came two seasons ago, when the Terps bested the Wolfpack, 15-6, in the series opener at Doak Field on March 11, 2005.

SCOUTING THE WOLFPACK
NC State opens its ACC schedule as well this weekend when it hosts the Terrapins, and the Wolfpack is off to an 11-4 start in 2007. The Wolfpack had lost two straight games before a 6-2 win over North Carolina A&T on Wednesday afternoon. The Wolfpack offense is led by Ryan Pond, who is batting .333 with three home runs, two doubles, two triples, and 15 RBIs. On the mound, the Wolfpack will send up Andrew Brackman (3-0, 2.01 ERA), Eric Surkamp (2-1, 2.45 ERA), and Jeff Stallings (2-0, 3.44 ERA).