Maryland-UVA Series Starts Friday At 3 p.m.
4/22/2010 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 22, 2010
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland baseball team plays host to No. 2 Virginia this weekend for a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference Series.
Because of rain in the forecast Saturday and Sunday, the teams will play a doubleheader that begins Friday at 3 p.m. Game two of the doubleheader will be played 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one, while game three of the series will be played Saturday at 1 p.m.
Before Saturday's game, former Terrapin head coach Jack Jackson will be on hand to throw out the first pitch. Jackson, who was the head coach from 1961-1990, will be joined by other former Terrapins in celebrating the 1965, 1970 and 1971 ACC Championship teams. Admission is free on Saturday as part of "Maryland Day."
Live stats for all three games can be found on umterps.com, while WMUC Sports will broadcast all three games live online.
Probable Pitching Matchups:
Friday (3:00/Game 1): RHP Brett Harman (4-5, 4.38) vs. LHP Danny Hultzen (5-1, 2.10)
Friday (TBA/Game 2): LHP Eric Potter (2-6, 6.60) vs. RHP Robert Morey (5-2, 4.17)
Saturday (1:00): RHP Sander Beck (0-6, 7.93) vs. RHP Cody Winiarski (4-0, 4.47)
Leading Off...
• The Terps face border-rival Virginia in a three-game set this weekend after splitting a pair of mid-week games. A rainy weekend forecast will force the teams to play a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. Friday, with game three scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday.
• Maryland cranked out a season-high 19 hits in a 14-9 win over Old Dominion Tuesday, but fell the next day to Towson, 3-1. Virginia is ranked No. 2 in the nation and won both of its mid-week games over Richmond and George Mason.
Tracking the Terrapins...
• Brett Harman has been one of the best pitchers in the ACC during conference action. His 2.70 ERA against ACC teams ranks fourth in the conference and he is second in innings pitched (43.1). In four of his six starts against ACC competition, Harman has gone at least seven innings, totaling 34 strikeouts and allowing just five earned runs in those games. The junior is tied for fourth in the league with 62 total strikeouts this season.
• Although Eric Potter has a 2-6 record and a 6.60 ERA on the season, he has been much better than that record recently, accumulating a 3.05 ERA in his last four starts. Against Navy on March 31, Potter didn't allow a hit in five innings, struck out four and walked two to get his second win of the season. The junior has allowed a total of seven earned runs over his last four starts.
• Maryland has been creative all season in finding ways to manufacture runs. The Terps have used squeeze-plays, double-steals, and most of all, sacrifice bunts to get runners home. As a team, Maryland has 45 sacrifice bunts heading into the weekend, which leads the ACC and ranked tied for fourth in the nation entering the week. Alfredo Rodriguez is second in the league with 10 sacrifice bunts, while Jack Cleary is tied for third with nine. Rodriguez's 10 bunts trail only Steven Braun (14, 2006) and Larry Long (14, 1999) in Maryland single-season history.
• Brandon Padula (.396) and Jack Cleary (.303) are Maryland's leaders in batting average. Padula also leads the team with 29 RBI and a .535 slugging %.
About the Cavaliers...
• Virginia has held the No. 1 ranking in the Baseball America poll for much of the season and this week comes in at No. 2. The Cavaliers rank third in the ACC with a .337 team batting average and also have the third-best pitching staff with a 3.72 team ERA.
• LHP Danny Hultzen leads the conference with a 2.10 ERA. He is 5-1 this season and is holding opponents to a .181 batting average. Just a sophomore, Hultzen also leads the league with 76 strikeouts.
• Closer Kevin Arico leads the league with 12 saves. In 19 appearances, Arico has accumulated a 3.38 ERA.
• Phil Gosselin ranks eighth in the conference with a .391 batting average. The junior is slugging .578 and has a .477 on-base percentage.
SERIES HISTORY: Maryland trails the all-time series with Virginia, 74-91-1.
Versatile veteran...
Senior Dan Gentzler has served as the Terps' closer all season and has been the primary first baseman much of the year.
• Gentzler, who is now tied for second on Maryland's all-time saves list with 15, has made a team-high 20 appearances on the mound and has a 5.18 ERA.
• He is tied for second in the ACC with seven saves this season and earned his first win of the year by not allowing a base runner in the ninth and tenth innings in the win over North Carolina (4/2).
• Before this season, Gentzler did not have a career at-bat. In 2010, he has made 25 starts at first base and is hitting .229.
• 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.
Immediate contributor...
Brandon Padula, who is in his first season with Maryland after transferring from West Virginia, has been the team's most reliable offensive contributor. The redshirt-sophomore has recorded three hits in a game seven times this season, and has 19 multi-hit games.
• Padula leads the team with 29 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.
Coming on in relief...
• John Dischert and Ian Schwalenberg have been Maryland's top relievers this season. Dischert has accumulated 26 innings of work in 13 appearances and leads the team with a 3.81 ERA. He leads the team with a 6.8-to-1 K/BB ratio. Schwalenberg, meanwhile, is second on the team with a 3.92 ERA in 41.1 innings pitched. The senior has 71 appearances in his career, eighth on Maryland's all-time list.
Cleary behind the plate...
• Just a redshirt-freshman, catcher Jack Cleary has improved both offensively and defensively throughout the year. He ranks second on the team with a .303 batting average, has thrown out eight of the last 11 runners attempting to steal against him, and is tied four fourth in the nation in pickoffs by a catcher with five.
Blazing a path...
• Against Towson on Arpil 21, Maryland broke the school single-season record by stealing its 96th base of the year. The previous record of 95 was set in 1998. The 96 stolen bases this seeason ranks in the top 10 in the nation. The Terps also broke the single-game school record for stolen bases this season when they had 10 vs. UMBC on April 14.
