Feb. 15, 2010

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Baseball is a game made up of individual battles. To succeed, a player must focus on each task at hand without looking ahead to what may come in the next at-bat, next inning or next game.

Head coach Erik Bakich has been hard at work in his first season with the Terps, making sure each players focus is concentrated solely on the next task. Thus, several of the team's mottos this season are built around the premise of maximizing each opportunity. "So what," and "200 feet" are two of the core covenants for the 2010 Maryland Terrapins.

If Maryland is going to reverse its recent fortunes in Atlantic Coast Conference play, it must be done one step at a time. "So what" can be applied to any stumbling block or downfall; when things don't go as planned, move on to the next opportunity and take full advantage of it. 200 feet is the distance your headlights shine when driving in the dark; for Maryland to make it to Greensboro for the ACC Tournament in May, Bakich's first goal upon arriving in College Park, they will do it by focusing on the present moment.

Bakich has used the past six months to instill this perspective and introduce his blue-collar, hard-working attitude to a team that will have to use will to overtake shortcomings in areas such as depth and sheer talent.

"We have practiced and trained so hard that the game will be the easy and fun part," said Bakich. "All they have to do is trust their preparation. We can't look at it as the particular team we're playing; we're playing ourselves and the game against the game. That's it."

So with months of practice behind them, the Terps prepare to head south for their first series under Bakich - a daunting matchup with Sun Belt Conference power Florida International in Miami.

The Terps must make up for the loss of the majority of their offensive contributors from a year ago. Gone are A.J. Casario, Mike Murphy and Will Greenberg, who were three of the top four leaders in batting average in 2009. Murphy, who batted .318 with a team-high 12 HRs and a team-best .606 slugging percentage, was lost to graduation. He ranks in the top 5 of nine different career batting records (398 total bases, 2nd; 91 extra-base hits, 2nd; 145 RBI, 3rd; 795 at-bats, 3rd; 56 doubles, third; 32 HRs, t-3rd; 150 runs, t-4th; 240 hits, 4th; 90 walks, t-5th). Overall, Maryland has to replace 65 percent of its run production and 66 percent of its RBI from 2009.

With so much power departed, the Terps will rely on making the most of speed, pressure and execution.

"I think we have to manufacture runs because we're not going to be known as a power-hitting team," said Bakich. "We have a couple guys that can drive the ball but most of our guys are not your prototypical power-hitters, so we'll rely more on a speed-pressure type offense."

Maryland's greatest strength this season will likely be its pitching depth. The Terps have seven pitchers who are juniors or seniors that possess experience. Included in that list is Brett Harman, Eric Potter, Adam Kolarek, Dan Gentzler, John Dischert, Blair Delean, and Ian Schwalenberg. And although Sander Beck is just a sophomore, Bakich has noted how impressed he's been with Beck throughout the preseason.

"Experience in college baseball is extremely important," said Bakich. "We return a lot of innings from last year so that will be a strength."

Harman, who led Maryland with a 3.75 K/BB ratio last season, will be the No. 1 starter. The junior went 4-5 in 20 appearances (11 starts) last year and was second on the team with 73.2 innings pitched. Harman also has the ability to go the distance, as he struck out 10 batters while throwing his first career complete game against Wake Forest on May 8, 2009.

Potter, a lefty, will likely be the No. 2 starter, while Kolarek and Beck will battle for the third spot in the rotation. Also a junior, Potter owns a 4-2 career record and started seven games last season. Kolarek has made 47 appearances over the past two seasons and has a career 4.54 ERA. Beck made 15 appearances as a freshman, going 2-0 with 43 strikeouts and just 14 walks, and gained invaluable experience over the summer pitching in the Cal Ripken, Sr., Collegiate Baseball League. Named the league's co-most outstanding pitcher after tallying a 1.56 ERA with Youse's Orioles, he pitched a team-high 40 1/3 innings on his way to a 6-1 record. Opposing batters hit just .192 in the summer league against him.

A bullpen consisting of Gentzler, Schwalenberg, Dischert, Delean and several newcomers should also be strong. As the team's closer, Gentzler posted a team-best seven saves last season, which tied for the third most in a single-season in school history. He also posted a team-best 3.13 ERA and made a team-high 28 appearances.

"If they go out and execute pitches, pitch to the best of their ability since right now they're the best baseball players they've ever been, they will be successful," said Bakich. "I expect them to be able to trust their stuff and go make pitches. And if they go make pitches good things will happen."

The Terps will have three experienced players in the infield with David Poutier, Alfredo Rodriguez and Matthew Murakami returning. Poutier led the team with a .321 batting average a year ago, starting in every game for the Terps. He also has some speed, stealing eight bases in 10 tries in 2009. The senior will move from second base to third this year with Murakami sliding in at second.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, will be the regular at shortstop. As a freshman last season, Rodriguez played in 46 games with 40 starts and is a solid defensive player.

"All three of those guys are good athletes and they all have at least one season of ACC play under their belt," said Bakich. "We are limited from a depth standpoint in the infield but we have guys that can fill in that have strengths, just maybe not as many strengths as those three."

Junior Curtis Lazar suffered an injury prior to the season, so Kolarek or newcomer Gary Schneider will likely take over at first base.

"Kolarek has done a good job and shown that he can swing a pretty good bat," said Bakich. "He's a left-handed power source that we need."

Maryland will have an all new outfield as Gerry Spessard and Dan Benick graduated, while Casario moved on to the professional ranks. Brandon Padula, a transfer from West Virginia, will take over in left field. Mike Rozak, a senior, will step in at center field, while freshman Jon Wilson will play right field.

"Padula, Rozak and Wilson are all solid defenders," said Bakich. "Rozak and Wilson have pretty good throwing arms. Wilson has the versatility to play center as well, and Padula could see some time at DH."

Freshmen Jordan Hagel and Tony Perez, as well as senior Kevin Tehansky are likely to see time in the outfield as well.

Redshirt freshman Jack Cleary earned the job at catcher after sophomore Tyler Bennett suffered an injury. Cleary will likely be backed up by freshman Zach Fisher and junior Tom Bailey.

"Cleary has a good arm and he's aggressive - I like that about him. He's going to be overly-aggressive sometimes but I'd rather have a guy you have to slow down a little bit rather than turn up. He's made huge strides offensively."

Maryland plays at Florida International at 7 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday. The Terps are scheduled to host their first home series Feb. 26-28 against Delaware.