Maryland Takes On Virginia Tech This Weekend
4/21/2011 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 21, 2011
Game Notes (PDF)
Season Stats (PDF)
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Virginia Tech (20-19, 4-14) at Maryland (17-22, 4-14)
Probable Pitching Matchups
Game 1: RHP David Carroll (5-3, 3.64) vs. LHP Joe Mantiply (4-5, 4.67)
Game 2: RHP Brady Kirkpatrick (2-1, 3.38) vs. RHP Marc Zecchino (3-4, 4.67)
Game 3: TBA vs. RHP Joe Parsons (4-2, 3.91)
Storyline
• Maryland plays host to Virginia Tech this weekend in its second-to-last Atlantic Coast Conference home series of the 2011 season. After playing the Hokies, Maryland hits the road for series at NC State and North Carolina. The Terps conclude regular-season conference play with a home series against Wake Forest, May 19-21.
• The Terps are led offensively by junior second baseman Ryan Holland, who is batting .315 with a team-high 24 RBI and a .421 on-base percentage. Alfredo Rodriguez is hitting .288 for the season but has been on a tear as of late. The junior shortstop has hit safely in each of the last nine games, the longest streak by a Terp this year. Rodriguez is 15-for-34 (.441) over the course of his hitting streak. Freshmen Tim Kiene and Austin Kilbourne have also come on strong at the plate recently. Over the last 10 games, Kiene is hitting .357 and Kilbourne .333. Kilbourne also had five RBI in Maryland's 10-2 win over Miami last Sunday. Leadoff batter Charlie White has done well setting the table, hitting .290 with a .389 OBP for the season. White is 15-for-15 on stolen bases and is one of three Terps with double-digit steals (Rodriguez -18, Korey Wacker -10).
• On the mound, Maryland will look to right-handers David Carroll and Brady Kirkpatrick in the first two games. Though Carroll allowed six runs in each of his last two outings, he is second on the team with a 3.64 ERA and pitched at least seven innings in five of his first seven starts this season. Kirkpatrick, a freshman, moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation last weekend and led the Terps to a 10-2 win over Miami. In that game Kirkpatrick logged seven innings and allowed just one run while spreading out five hits, striking out six and walking three. The Eugene, Ore., native has a team-best 3.38 ERA and is averaging 9.2 Ks/9 innings, which is second on the team behind Chuck Ghysels (10.9). Maryland's game-three starter is yet to be determined.
Follow the Terps Online
• Audio of the entire series will be broadcast live on the Internet at WMUCSports.com. Live stats will be available at umterps.com. Follow the Terps on Twitter at twitter.com/umterps.
About the Hokies...
• Virginia Tech comes into the weekend with a 20-19 overall record and a 4-14 mark within the conference. The Hokies won one of three games last weekend at home against Florida State, and their three other ACC wins came against Boston College (1) and Wake Forest (2).
• The Hokies lead the conference in home runs by a wide margin - they have 49, while Wake Forest is next on the list with 36. Outfielder Andrew Rash has an ACC-best 14 home runs, leads the conference with a .771 slugging percentage and ranks 14th with a .344 batting average. Shortstop Tim Smalling is second on the team in hitting (.333), home runs (8) and slugging (.590). Tech, which ranks sixth in the conference in hitting (.292), has two other players with hitting above .300: outfielder Tony Balisteri (.325) and second baseman Michael Seaborn (.301).
• The Tech pitching staff's 4.86 ERA ranks 10th in the ACC. LHP Joe Mantiply (4-5, 4.67) will start Friday and has struck out 34, walked 19 and allowed 31 runs (27 earned) on 62 hits in 52 innings. RHP Marc Zecchino (3-4, 4.67), the Saturday starter, ranks fourth in the conference with 70 strikeouts, has walked 24 and allowed 31 runs (27 earned) on 47 hits in 52 innings. RHP Joe Parsons (4-2, 3.91) is the Sunday starter and has struck out 32, walked 15 and allowed 23 runs (20 earned) on 49 hits in 46 innings.
SERIES HISTORY: Maryland leads the all-time series with Virginia Tech, 28-18-1. The Terps won game one of the series, 10-0, in Blacksburg last season, before the Hokies rebounded to take games two and three. The teams last met in College Park in 2009, a Hokie sweep.
Quick Hits...
• Against Miami on 4/17, freshman Austin Kilbourne became the first Terp to record at least five RBI in a game since Tyler Bennett had eight on May 9, 2009.
• Redshirt freshman Jeff Crosswhite hasn't allowed a run in three appearances spanning six innings since making his Maryland debut on 4/12 against Delaware State. Crosswhite, who missed the first two months of the year while recovering from Tommy John, has struck out nine, walked two and given up two hits.
• Against James Madison on 4/13, the Terps hit three home runs for the first time since Feb. 27, 2010, when they did it against Delaware.
• Against West Virginia on 4/5, Jake Stinnett became the first Terp to homer twice in a game since Tyler Bennett had three round-trippers against Wake Forest on May 9, 2009.
• The Terps had at least 10 hits against FSU on 4/2 and 4/3, and West Virginia on 4/5; they last did that in March of 2010, when they had 12 against Hofstra, 10 against Hofstra and 14 against Virginia Tech.
• Alfredo Rodriguez is tied for fifth in school history with 44 career steals. He needs four more to pass Chris Cannan (1991-94) and Mark Poehlman (1977-80), who both had 47, for fourth place.
• Rodriguez has started 104 straight games at shortstop. The last time he didn't start was April 28, 2009.
• Maryland is 11-1 when holding its opponent to two runs or less, but just 6-21 when the opponent scores three or more runs.
• The Terps have a 4-4 record in doubleheaders this year. They split with No. 6 Texas and Miami, swept Canisius and were swept by No. 3 Virginia.
• Maryland's four shutouts this season are the most since it had five in 2007.
