March 22, 2012

Game Notes (PDF)

Maryland (15-7, 1-5 ACC) at #12 Miami (17-4, 5-1 ACC)

Location: Coral Gables, Fla.
Stadium: Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field (3,678)
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Video: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3

Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday (7 p.m): RHP Brady Kirkpatrick (1-2, 3.23) vs. LHP Eric Erickson (3-2, 2.66)
Saturday (7 p.m.): RHP David Carroll (2-0, 3.46) vs. RHP Eric Whaley (2-1, 2.64)
Sunday (1 p.m.): RHP Brett Harman (3-1, 1.11) vs. LHP Steven Ewing (3-0, 1.78)

Storyline...
• Maryland visits Miami this weekend for its second ACC road trip of the year and fourth series away from home overall. The Terps are 6-5 in road/neutral games this season after falling at Delaware, 3-1, Wednesday afternoon.

• In its last ACC game, Maryland was propelled to a 1-0 victory over No. 4 North Carolina by starting pitcher Brett Harman. The senior logged eight scoreless innings against the Tar Heels, matching a season high with eight strikeouts while scattering seven hits. Harman has been off to a fast start this season, holding the opponent without an earned run in four of his five starts. His 1.11 ERA is second in the ACC behind Kevin Pohle of Clemson (1.09).

• Maryland's pitching staff continues to lead the conference with a 2.29 ERA. The Terps are one of just three teams in the conference with a sub-3.00 ERA, joining North Carolina (2.78) and NC State (2.84). Led by Jimmy Reed, Korey Wacker and Michael Boyden, the bullpen has played a large role: Reed has six saves and has yet to allow a run in 11 appearances spanning 11 1/3 innings; Wacker has logged a team-high 13 innings out of the pen and has a 0.69 ERA; and Boyden has a 1.93 ERA in five relief appearances.

• K.J. Hockaday leads the team in hitting (.342) and has been on a hot streak as of late. The freshman is on a five-game hitting streak entering the weekend and is batting .382 over the last 10 games. He also leads the team with nine multiple-hit games this season and a .455 batting average in conference games. Alfredo Rodriguez has also picked it up offensively recently, hitting .343 over the last 10 games to raise his season batting average to .273. The shortstop has also been playing excellent defense - he didn't commit an error until the 19th game of the season and is fielding at a .980 percentage.

Follow the Terps
• Broadcasts of all three games will be streamed online at HurricaneSports.com. Live stats are available via GameTracker at umterps.com. Also follow @umterpsbaseball on Twitter for updates.

Scouting Miami...
• Miami comes into the weekend with a 17-4 overall record, including a 5-1 mark in the ACC. The Hurricanes are ranked in all five major polls, ranging from seventh (Collegiate Baseball Newspaper) to 13th (Perfect Game USA). Three of Miami's losses came at the hands of No. 1 Florida, while the fourth was to Duke last Friday night.

• Senior catcher Peter O'Brien leads a Miami offense that ranks seventh in the league with a .292 team batting average. O'Brien is hitting .400, which is tied for third in the league, and leads the conference with eight home runs. He also ranks third with 26 RBIs.

• The Hurricanes are fifth in the league with a 3.32 ERA. Sunday starter Steven Ewing is seventh in the conference with a 1.78 ERA and has 35 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings of work.

Series history: Maryland trails the all-time series with Miami, 4-11. The Hurricanes won two of three in College Park last year and swept the series in Coral Gables in 2010.

Upcoming...
• Following its series at Miami, the Terps play at St. John's Wednesday night before heading further north to Chestnut Hill, Mass., for a three-game series at Boston College next weekend.

Follow Maryland Baseball on Twitter