April 11, 2008
Weekly Release 
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Winners of four straight games and six of its last seven, the University of Maryland baseball team looks to continue its winning ways this weekend when the No. 19 Virginia Cavaliers come to Shipley Field for a three-game ACC weekend series.
The Terps (20-14, 5-10 ACC) won their first ACC series of the season last weekend, taking two of three games at Virginia Tech, but will face a tough challenge this weekend with the 19th-ranked Cavaliers, who come into the series at 26-9 and 8-7 in the ACC.
Maryland is currently half a game behind Wake Forest for the important fourth-place spot in the ACC's Atlantic Division. If the Terps are going to make up ground in the standings this weekend, they will have to solve one of the best pitching staffs in the country.
The Cavs boast a team ERA of 3.13, which is the 10th-best team mark in the nation.
The series begins at 7 p.m. Friday evening with Scott Swinson (Ellicott City, Md./George Washington University) toeing the hill for the Terps against Virginia All-American Jacob Thompson, who boasts a 4-1 record and 3.59 ERA.
Senior Mike Sufczynski (Darnestown, Md./St. John's) will make his first weekend start of the season Saturday and will face Virginia southpaw Pat McAnaney and his league-best 1.61 ERA.
Kevin Biringer (Albuquerque, N.M./Bradley University) will face Andrew Carraway at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Maryland's offense has found a groove lately, especially senior Nick Jowers (Beltsville, Md./DeMatha Catholic), who leads the Terps with a .379 batting average and .492 on-base percentage, both of which rank seventh in the ACC.
Sophomore AJ Casario (Pine Hill, N.J./Overbrook) went 7-for-8 combined in midweek wins against Coppin State and Mount Saint Mary's while Mike Murphy (Silver Spring, Md./Georgetown Prep) has three home runs in his last five games to increase his team lead to nine.
In addition to their excellent pitching staff, the Cavaliers pose a tough threat offensively, as well. The Cavs are particularly tough on the base paths, stealing 75 bases already this season, the fourth-highest total in the nation. Greg Miclat leads Virginia with 22 steals.
Dan Grovatt leads Virginia with a .465 average. Jeremy Farrell is hitting .360 with a team-high six home runs in addition to 34 RBIs.
The Terps are looking to break a 15-game losing streak to the Cavaliers. Maryland's last series win against Virginia was in 2008.
WMUCSports.com will provide a free, live broadcast of all three games while Sunday's game is available on ACCSelect.
-TERPS-
