Terps Face No. 6 Florida State Friday
3/25/2010 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 25, 2010
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Maryland baseball team opens a three-game set with No. 6 Florida State Friday at 6 p.m. in Tallahassee. RHP Brett Harman, who is 2-0 in ACC starts this season, will take the mound for Maryland against FSU's LHP Sean Gilmartin.
Friday and Saturday's games will be broadcast on FS Florida and FS Atlantic, which are part of DirecTV and the Dish Network's Fox Sports package. Sunday's game will be streamed on the web at www.seminoles.com. Live stats for all three games can be found on umterps.com.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday, 6:00 p.m.: RHP Brett Harman (3-2, 4.98) vs. LHP Sean Gilmartin (3-1, 2.25)
Saturday, 6:00 p.m.: LHP Adam Kolarek (1-1, 4.50) vs. LHP John Gast (3-1, 3.42)
Sunday, 1:00 pm: RHP Sander Beck (0-3, 6.94) vs. RHP Geoff Parker (1-0, 7.59)
Leading Off...
• The Terps head into their ACC weekend series with No. 6 Florida State coming off of a mid-week split with James Madison and UMBC. Maryland lost at JMU on Tuesday, but returned home to defeat UMBC 8-5 behind shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez's 3-for-4, four RBI performance. The sophomore also stole a career-high three bases in the game, while Matt Marquis, Mike Rozak and Brandon Padula all had two-hit games.
Tracking the Terrapins...
• Friday starter Brett Harman has been dominant in his last three starts. Against Hofstra on March 6, Harman pitched eight innings, striking out nine batters, just one short of his career-high. He spread out seven hits and gave up three earned runs while walking just one to earn the win. Against Virginia Tech on March 12, Harman again went eight innings in leading the Terps to their first shutout of an ACC opponent since 2002. In his most recent outing, the junior again pitched eight innings, this time against then-No. 3 Georgia Tech, to help Maryland defeat a top-5 team for the first time in nearly two years. Harman ranks sixth in the ACC with 33 strikeouts this season.
• Adam Kolarek has mide six appearances this season on the mound, while also seeing time at first base and in the outfield. The lefty has allowed either zero or one run in five of his six appearances, though he had a rough outing in his most recent start, giving up eight runs against Georgia Tech.
• Senior John Dischert has been Maryland's top reliever, posting a 1.35 ERA in seven appearances this season. In 13.1 innings, he has allowed just five hits and two runs, while striking out 18 and walking only three.
• Brandon Padula, Alfredo Rodriguez and Matt Marquis have led Maryland offensively. Padula is batting a conference-best .486, including two home runs. Rodriguez is coming off a three-hit game and is batting .286. Marquis, a transfer from Vanderbilt, is hitting .275 and leads the team with 19 runs scored and three home runs.
About the Seminoles...
• Florida State is the sixth-ranked team in the nation in Baseball America's latest poll, entering the weekend with a 16-4 record. The Seminoles started the season on a 12-game winning streak and have a 3-3 mark in conference action.
• FSU is batting .317 as a team and has seven everyday starters batting above .300. Freshman Jayce Boyd is batting a team-high .381, while fellow freshman Justin Gonzalez is hitting .379 and leads the team with a .603 slugging percentage.
• The Seminoles rank second in the ACC with a 3.38 team ERA. They have two lefties in the weekend rotation: Sophomore Sean Gilmartin (3-1, 2.25) and junior John Gast (3-1, 3.42).
SERIES HISTORY: Maryland trails the all-time series with Florida State, 3-57.
Veteran contributor...
Senior Dan Gentzler already ranked on Maryland's career saves list entering 2010, but this season he has made contributions on the mound and at the plate.
• Gentzler, who is now third on Maryland's all-time saves list with 13, has made a team-high 11 appearances on the mound and owns a 4.91 ERA.
• He ranks second in the ACC with five saves this season and has allowed just two hits in his last four appearances.
• Before this season, Gentzler did not have a career at-bat. In 2010, he has made nine starts at first base, in addition to seeing time at third base and as the DH. Gentzler currently has a .289 batting average.
• Against Georgia Tech on March 19, Gentzler belted two home runs off 2009 ACC pitcher of the year Deck McGuire, totaling four RBI and leading Maryland to a 5-2 win. Showing his versatility, Gentzler moved from first base to pitcher and threw a perfect ninth inning to preserve the win and earn a save.
• For his performance against the Yellow Jackets, Gentzler was given the Primetime Performer Award by CollegeBaseball360.com.
Power from Padula...
Outfielder/DH Brandon Padula has continued his offensive onslaught this season, leading the ACC with a .486 batting average. The redshirt-sophomore has recorded three hits in a game six times this season, and has 12 multi-hit games.
• Padula leads the team with 17 RBI on the year, including a career-high four in a 7-5, come from behind victory over Hofstra on 3/7. In that game, Padula hit a two-out, three-run home run that proved to be the game-winner in the bottom of the eighth inning.
• Padula came through with his second game-winning hit of the season against Old Dominion (3/16), breaking a 2-2 tie with an RBI double in the eighth inning.
• In addition to leading the team in batting average and RBI, he also paces the Terps in doubles (8), slugging percentage (.676) and on-base percentage (.529).
• Padula has hit safely in 19 of 21 games this season.
Running early and often...
Head coach Erik Bakich made it no secret that he planned to be aggressive on the base paths this season, and the Terps have been just that. Maryland leads the league with 47 stolen bases on the year, including a school-record eight in a 10-3 win over Hofstra on 3/6. Shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez leads the league with 15 stolen bases this year, and has only been caught stealing once this season.
Getting on base... • Leadoff batter David Poutier has done his job getting on base all season. The senior ranks second on the team with a .409 on-base percentage, having drawn 19 walks and recorded 14 hits this year. The 19 walks (0.95/game) is tied for fourth in the ACC. Poutier is a threat to run once on, having stolen six bags this year.
