On the hill, Ruse enjoyed his finest start of the year blanking New Bedford over eight dominant innings in a 7-0 Sanford win on July 22. The native of Bel Air, Md., fanned a league-high 11 batters while walking none and yielding only three hits in his lone appearance last week. The rising senior finished with a 0.38 WHIP for the week.

In four starts this summer, Ruse owns a 2-2 record with a 2.66 ERA and has struck out 26 compared to only four walks and 18 hits, good for a .930 WHIP and .214 opponents' batting average. He has won his last two decisions and has not yielded an earned run over his last 14 innings.

Playoffs Begin in the Ripken League

The regular season came to a close over the weekend in the Ripken League with the Bethesda Big Train, led by Brandon Lowe, Tayler Stiles and future Terp Justin Morris, taking home the regular season title with a 31-9 record.

The six-team playoff began Monday and has seen the defending champion Baltimore Redbirds advance to the championship round. The Redbirds, who feature Chase Brewis, Nick Cieri and future Terps Willie Rios and Jamal Wade, defeated the Rockville Express Tuesday to advance in the winner's bracket and face the Big Train. On Wednesday, the Redbirds downed the regular season champs, 7-3, behind two hits from Cieri including a double to advance to the title round.

The Big Train will square off against the Express Thursday at 7:30 p.m. from Shirley Povich Field with the winner advancing to face the Redbirds.

-Maryland-