May 19, 2010

Game Notes (PDF)

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland baseball team will play its final series of the 2010 season when it travels to Winston-Salem, N.C., for a matchup with Atlantic Coast Conference foe Wake Forest. Game one of the series is Thursday at 6 p.m.

Live stats for all three games can be found on umterps.com

Probable Pitching Matchups:
Thursday (6:00): RHP Brett Harman (4-8, 4.72) vs. LHP Austin Stadler (3-3, 5.40)
Friday (6:00): LHP Eric Potter (2-9, 8.33) vs. RHP Michael Dimock (2-9, 6.85)
Saturday (1:00): RHP Sander Beck (0-8, 7.55) vs. RHP Brandon Johnson (0-4, 8.59)

Leading Off...
• After taking a nearly two-week break for finals, Maryland returns to action for its final series of the 2010 season when it travels to Wake Forest for a three-game set that starts on Thursday.
• Last season, the Terps swept the Demon Deacons in College Park, winning 7-4, 10-9 and 15-4. Tyler Bennett hit four home runs in that series, including three in the 10-9 win.

Tracking the Terrapins...
• Brett Harman looks to cap off a solid junior season in winning fashion on Thursday. The junior has been a model of efficiency this season, consistently giving Maryland outings of six-plus innings while allowing few runs and recording high strikeout numbers. Despite lasting just four innings against Clemson last week - his shortest outing of the season after taking a liner off his throwing arm in the first inning - Harman is tied for third in the ACC with 61.2 innings pitched during conference action. Seven of his nine starts in conference play have gone at least six innings, and five of them have gone at least seven innings. Harman also ranks fourth during conference play with 61 strikeouts (8.9/game), trailing only Matt Harvey (63) of North Carolina, Deck McGuire (68) of Georgia Tech and Danny Hultzen (74) of Virginia.
• Since being inserted into the starting lineup against Miami on April 30, freshman Gary Schneider has taken full advantage of his opportunity. He went 7-for-12 in the three-game series against the Hurricanes - his first three starts against ACC competition - and hit the first home run of his career during the series. The first baseman/designated hitter enters the weekend riding an eight-game hitting streak and has had multiple-hit efforts in seven of those eight games. Overall, Schneider is hitting .500 in 46 at-bats this season, with a .674 slugging percentage and a .509 on-base percentage.
• Second baseman David Poutier is coming off an outstanding series against Clemson in which he went 8-for-11. The senior also drew a pair of walks and had a .769 on-base percentage for the weekend.
• Brandon Padula leads Maryland in a number of offensive categories, including batting average (.337), RBI (31), slugging percentage (.466) and on-base percentage (.416).

About the Demon Deacons...
• Wake Forest enters the weekend having won two straight and four of its last five, including a series victory over Clemson last weekend.
• The Deacons have three players batting over .300 - Matt Conway (.362), Steven Brooks (.352) and Mike Murray (.342). Conway leads the team with a .587 slugging percentage, Brooks is tops with 20 doubles, while Murray has a team-leading 47 RBI.
• Pitcher Austin Stadler has recorded 11 strikeouts in each of his last two starts. Against Clemson, Stadler earned the win by giving up just one run in 6 2/3.

SERIES HISTORY: Maryland trails the all-time series with Wake Forest, 55-91-1. The Terps swept a three-game series from Wake Forest last season in College Park.

Versatile veteran...
Senior Dan Gentzler will be capping off a stellar career at Maryland in which he has etched his name in the record books as one of top closers in school history.
• Gentzler is tied for second with Charles Devereux with 15 saves in his career, trailing only Brett Cecil, who had 23 at Maryland.
• Gentzler has made a team-high 25 appearances on the mound for the Terps this year, but save opportunities have been sparse lately. The senior hasn't had a save opportunity since April 14 at UMBC when he picked up his seventh of the season. Still, Gentzler ranks fourth in the ACC in the category.
• Before this season, Gentzler did not have a career at-bat. In 2010, he has made 33 starts at first base and is hitting .233. Gentzler is also 8-for-11 in stolen bases this year.
• 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.

Coming on in relief...
• Two of Maryland's top setup men will also be pitching in their final series in Terrapin uniforms. LHP John Dischert has been excellent with his control, striking out 4.4 for every walk he issues, which is tops on the team. Dischert has accumulated a 4.72 ERA in 32.1 innings this season.RHP Ian Schwalenberg, meanwhile, has made 23 appearances this year and owns a 5.01 ERA. With 76 appearances in his career, Schwalenberg is tied for third on Maryland's all-time appearances list.

Terrapin Tidbits...
• Underclassmen have accounted for 328 of 477 (68.8%) of Maryland's starts at the eight positional spots plus the designated hitter. Leading the way among underclassmen is sophomore Alfredo Rodriguez, who has started all 53 games at shortstop, and redshirt-freshman Jack Cleary, who has started 51 games at catcher. David Poutier has seen the most starts among upperclassmen, starting 52 games at second or third base.
• Maryland has been hot on the base paths all season. The Terps broke the single-game school record for stolen bases when they had 10 vs. UMBC on April 14, and also own the school's single-season record with 118 stolen bases; the previous record of 95 was set in 1998. Alfredo Rodriguez has led the way, currently tied for second in the ACC with 23. That marks the most stolen bases by a Terp since Larry Long had 33 in 1998, which stands as the school record.
• On May 5, Mike Rozak was named to the 2010 CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District First Team, putting him on the ballot for Academic All-America consideration. Rozak, who is carrying two majors in physiology & neurobiology, as well as criminology & criminal justice, is one of 11 members on the District 2 First Team. The fifth-year senior has a 3.77 grade-point average and is a two-time winner of the President's Cup Academic Achievement Award, given to the junior or senior with the highest GPA on the team. Rozak is also a member of the Honors Biology program, a nine-time Dean's List member and a Stanford A. Levine Scholarship recipient.