#16 Maryland Hosts Iowa This Weekend
4/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The No. 16 Maryland baseball team will host Big Ten leader Iowa this weekend at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium.
Games two and three will be streamed live on BTN Plus.
Leading it off
Iowa
Fri., April 10
6:00 p.m. RHP Mike Shawaryn (7-0, 2.00 ERA) vs. RHP Tyler Peyton (4-2, 2.17 ERA)
Sat., April 11
2:00 p.m. LHP Tayler Stiles (3-2, 3.27 ERA) vs. RHP Blake Hickman (4-1, 2.13 ERA)
Sun., April 12
12:00 p.m. RHP Kevin Mooney (0-0, 1.64 ERA) vs. RHP Calvin Mathews (3-0, 1.25 ERA)
Location: College Park, Md.
Stadium: Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium
Live Streaming: BTN Plus (Saturday, Sunday)
Live Audio: Maryland Baseball Network
Live Stats: umterps.com
Twitter: @TerpsBaseball
• Maryland split its pair of midweek games, defeating West Virginia 12-7 before dropping a game with George Washington 12-1. The Terrapins swept Nebraska in their last Big Ten series.
• This will be Maryland's first-ever meeting with Iowa
• Sophomore second baseman Brandon Lowe and sophomore right handed pitcher Mike Shawaryn were named to the 60-player midseason USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Watch List. The award is given to the top amatuer baseball player in the country.
• Lowe hit his eighth home run of the season against West Virginia. He currently leads the Big Ten in average (.385), slugging (.697), on-base percentage (.490), runs scored (40), hits (47) and home runs (8). The Suffolk, Va., native is sixth in the nation in runs and 20th in slugging.
• After setting the Maryland single-season record for wins last season, Shawaryn has accumulated seven victories already this season, good enough for tops in the country. His 18 career wins are the most for any sophomore in the nation.
• In its first year in the Big Ten, Maryland has put together an offensive performance that paces the conference. The Terrapins lead the league in slugging percentage (.458), on-base percentage (.393), runs scored (228), home runs (31) and walks (145). Maryland ranks third in average at .289.
• Maryland's pitching staff has been mowing opposing batters down all season. The Terps lead the Big Ten with 269 strikeouts on the season, including 92 struck out looking, also a conference high.
• Catcher Kevin Martir has been outstanding at the plate this season. The junior is second in the conference in average (.376), third in slugging .606, third on OBP (.481) and tenth in RBIs (25).
• Alex Robinson has been untouchable this season in relief. The junior has not given up an earned run over 14.0 innings of work and has 20 strikeouts.
• Kevin Mooney earned his second save of the season in the win over Minnesota set a new Maryland career saves record (24). The record was previously held by Brett Cecil. Mooney recorded his third save against Michigan.
LOWE SETS THE TABLE
• He is eighth in the country in runs per game with 1.29.
Super Shawaryn
MARYLAND BY THE NUMBERS
.393...Maryland's on-base percentage, good enough for 24th in the country.
1...Maryland won its first regional title in 2014
1.29...Brandon Lowe's runs per game, which is the eighth best mark in the country.
8.9...The number for strikeouts per nine innings for the Terps so far this year, good enough for 24th in the nation.
40...Brandon Lowe's number of runs, the most in the B1G and 8th in the nation.
60...Mike Shawaryn's season strikeout total, the most in the B1G and 21st in the country.
Highly rated
| Terps in the Polls | ||||||||||
| D1Baseball | Baseball America | USA Today/ESPN | NCBWA | |||||||
| Team | 16 | 19 | 16 | 21 | ||||||
• After a historic 2014, Maryland has received its highest preseason ranking in history from multiple polls. D1Baseball.com had the Terrapins the highest at No. 14.
• Maryland is the highest ranked Big Ten team in most major polls.
Preseason Honors
INF Jose Cuas
• Perfect Game Preseason All-Conference Team.
INF Brandon Lowe
• D1Baseball Preseason All-American (3rd Team)
• Big Ten Player to Watch
RHP Kevin Mooney
• Big Ten Player to Watch
• 2015 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List
RHP Mike Shawaryn
• D1Baseball Preseason Big Ten Pitcher of the Year.
• Big Ten Player to Watch
B1G Favorite
• The Terps have been picked to top the Big Ten in its inaugural season in the conference. The conference's coaches voted on the top six teams.
1. Maryland
2. Nebraska
3. Illinois
4. Indiana
5. Michigan
6. Ohio State
• Maryland is also the consensus selection to win the conference among national publications.
Super 2014
• Following a 43-year absence, Maryland advanced to the NCAA Tournament, and then swept the Columbia Regional, beating Old Dominion and South Carolina, to make their first trip to a Super Regional in team history. The squad's first victory in that regional over the Gamecocks snapped the home team's 28-game postseason winning streak. Maryland fell one game short of a trip to Omaha, falling to Virginia in the Super Regional.
• Maryland set a school record for wins in a season with 40. The Terps notched its third straight winning season, a streak not seen since 1976-78.
• The Terrapins left the ACC with a bang, notching its first winning season in the conference since 1981 and appearing in the ACC title game for the first time since 1976
• The Terps' success did not fly under the radar. Maryland finished the season with its highest ever ranking, rising to as high as No. 13 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Terps finished the season ranked 14th by Baseball American, Collegiate Baseball News and Perfect Game. The NCBWA ranked the Terps No. 16 in its final poll.
Postseason Plaudits
• The Terps had five players named to the Columbia All-Regional Team led by centerfielder Charlie White (graduated), who was named the regional's most outstanding player. Jose Cuas (third base), Kevin Martir (catcher) Mike Shawaryn (pitcher) and LaMonte Wade (first base) joined White on the squad.
• Shawaryn and Brandon Lowe earned Freshman All-American honors from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, the NCBWA and Perfect Game. Shawaryn recorded a Maryland single-season record 11 victories while Lowe paced the Terps in average (.348), slugging (.464), on-base percentage (.464) and triples (3).
• Lowe, White and Jake Stinnett all earned All-ACC honors. Stinnett and White were named to the second team while Lowe was a third-team selection.
• Maryland had three players placed on the ACC All-Tournament Team. Martir batted .462 in the tournament and added two home runs, three runs scored and four RBIs. Wade and Blake Schmit were also named to the team.
Stellar Szefc
• Head coach John Szefc is 70-48 at Maryland entering his third year in College Park. No Maryland skipper has ever won that many games in a two-year span.
• Szefc picked up his 300th career victory against Michigan on March 28.
• The native of Middletown, N.Y., has coached 80 players that have been drafted or signed professional contracts since 1997.
• Szefc earned 30 victories in his first season, the most ever by a Maryland first-year head coach. He was most previously the associate head coach at Kansas State.
pro Terps
• Four Terrapins were selected in the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft, led by Jake Stinnett who was taken 45th overall by the Chicago Cubs. Left-handed pitcher Ben Brewster was chosed in the 15th round by the Chicago White Sox while Charlie White was picked in the 21st round by the Cubs. Blake Schmitt rounded out the selections, drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 26th rounds.
