Terps Host Clemson In Final Home Series
5/6/2010 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 6, 2010
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland baseball team will play its final three home games of the 2010 season when it plays host to Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Clemson this weekend.
On Saturday, several special guests will be on hand prior to the game as Maryland Athletics dedicates Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium to Bob Smith, a Maryland alumnus and member of the baseball team from 1960-63.
Sunday marks Senior Day for the Terps, who will honor nine members of the senior class: Tim Crawford, John Dischert, Dan Gentzler, Trey Hipp, David Poutier, Mike Rozak, Ian Schwalenberg, Kevin Tehansky and team manager Corey Haines.
Live stats for all three games can be found on umterps.com, while WMUCSports will have the call of all three games online.
Pitching Matchups:
Friday (6:00): RHP Brett Harman (4-7, 4.38) vs. LHP Casey Harman (5-1, 3.31)
Saturday (1:00): LHP Eric Potter (2-9, 8.39) vs. Scott Weismann (4-2, 4.60)
Sunday (1:00): RHP Sander Beck (0-8, 7.64) vs. TBA
Leading Off...
• The Terps will play their final three home games of the 2010 season this weekend when Atlantic Division foe Clemson visits Shipley Field at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium.
• Maryland split a pair of away games this week, defeating in-state rival Towson 10-5 on Tuesday to win the season series 2-1 before falling to Liberty on Wednesday, 11-1.
Tracking the Terrapins...
• Brett Harman has established himself as one of the top pitchers in the ACC during conference action. His 3.12 ERA against ACC teams ranks fifth in the conference and he is tied for first in innings pitched (57.2). In five of his eight starts against ACC competition, Harman has gone at least seven innings, totaling 42 strikeouts and allowing just eight earned runs in those games. The junior is third in the league with 80 total strikeouts this season, or 9.47 per game, including 10 against Miami last weekend. 60 of Harman's strikeouts have come against ACC teams, which ranks second behind Danny Hultzen of No. 1 Virginia.
• Freshman first baseman/designated hitter Gary Schneider has been on an offensive tear since being inserted into the starting lineup last Friday against No. 16 Miami. Schneider has five straight multiple-hit games, including a 7-for-12 effort in the three games against Miami. He also went 4-for-4 with three doubles against Towson on Tuesday and is batting .486 with a .686 slugging percentage on the season.
• 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 52 sacrifice bunts heading into the weekend, which ranks sixth in the nation. Jack Cleary leads the Terps with 11 sacrifice bunts, trailing only Steven Braun (14, 2006) and Larry Long (14, 1999) in Maryland single-season history.
About the Tigers...
• The Tigers enter this weekend's matchup at 28-17 overall and 11-10 in the ACC. Clemson is unranked in the Baseball America poll, but comes in at No. 24 in the Sports Weekly Coaches Poll.
• Kyle Parker leads the Tigers with a .377 batting average, 16 home runs, a .734 slugging percentage and a .503 on-base percentage. Second baseman Mike Freeman, meanwhile, is hitting .314 and riding a 13-game hitting streak.
• Clemson is in the middle of the ACC pack with a .304 team batting average and a 4.56 team ERA.
• The Tigers have hit 59 home runs and are averaging 8.5 runs per game.
SERIES HISTORY: Maryland trails the all-time series with Clemson, 39-106. The Tigers won the first two games of the series in Clemson last year before Maryland took game three.
Clemson Connection: Head coach Erik Bakich served as a volunteer assistant at Clemson in 2002 when the Tigers went 54-17 and played in the College World Series.
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 24 appearances on the mound and has a 5.22 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 32 starts at first base and is hitting .243.
• 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...
• The Terps have turned to a pair of seniors in the most critical relief situations this season. LHP John Dischert has been excellent with his control, striking out 5.25 for every walk he issues, which is tops on the team. Dischert has accumulated a 4.45 ERA in 30.1 innings this season and his 1.13 WHIP (walks + hits/innings pitched) also leads the team. RHP Ian Schwalenberg, meanwhile, has made 22 appearances this year and owns a 4.69 ERA. With 75 appearances in his career, Schwalenberg is fourth on Maryland's all-time appearances list.
Terrapin Tidbits...
• Underclassmen have accounted for 309 of 450 (68.7%) 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 50 games at shortstop, and redshirt-freshman Jack Cleary, who has started 48 games at catcher. David Poutier has seen the most starts among upperclassmen, starting 46 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 113 stolen bases; the previous record of 95 was set in 1998. Alfredo Rodriguez has led the way, currently leading 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 Wednesday, 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 three-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.
